KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles
by KokoroEcho
Summary: A collection of short spin-offs/one-shots from my main stories. These will feature side characters I've created and OC's submitted to me by longtime readers. Occasionally, there will be guest writers.
1. Himawari Watson

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 1**

**Himawari Watson**

**The Boy with Lightning Hair and Dragon's Blood**

* * *

Today was the day. The new season was starting.

Himawari, a boy aged thirteen, flipped a large switched as he walked into the main room of his gym. The lights flickered on, illuminating his black field. The lines, usually made of chalk on regular fields, were instead made with lights that were installed into the ground. Himawari slowly walked across the field, feeling the smooth black surface of it with the bottom of his shoes. He approached his box and then turned towards the entrance, looking out across the field.

"So, now I just wait?" he asked.

Tessen Wattson, Himawari's grandpa, laughed from the stands. "Yep! But don't worry! It's the first day of the season. You're bound to have tons of challengers today! Are the Pokémon prepared?"

Himawari thought on it for a moment. Since it was the first day of the season, most of the trainers who would be challenging him today would be beginner trainers. Because of this, he had to set up teams of relatively weaker Pokémon. A few weeks prior, he went to the breeders, and he had since grown his team drastically. In the back of the gym were now dozens of young Pokémon, all ready to fight if they were called upon.

"We're ready," he answered.

"And what if someone strong walks in through that door today?" Tessen asked.

This was another challenge that Himawari was faced with. Being the first day, it was likely that he'd only face beginners, but there was a chance, even if it was small, that someone skilled would walk through the entrance. The only way to guess at their skill-level would be through their age as no one in the whole region even had a badge yet.

But he looked down to his wrist where he had on a black bracelet. In the middle of the bracelet was a stone made of yellow, red, and blue. If need be, he'd be able to try out a new technique that was taking the Hoenn region by storm. The Manectric that was gifted to him by his friend could go to the next level if a strong trainer just so happened to walk through those doors.

"We'll be fine," Himawari said.

Tessen laughed. "I'm excited to see what you do today. I remember my first battle as a gym leader. It was nerve wracking, but my pop supported me, and we got through it! Remember! It's your job to test the trainer! Don't throw your matches, but don't push your Pokémon too far. You're not putting on five star matches, kid."

Himawari nodded, and he looked back towards the door. Any moment now, he would be challenged by new trainers. Any moment now.

But no one came. Himawari slumped. He fiddled with his black jacket. He checked to make sure that his black jeans weren't pulled up too high. He repeatedly checked his blonde hair in his Poké Ball's reflection to make sure that it hadn't frizzed and that he was still cool. He totally was.

And then, the door creaked open. Himawari stood up straight and looked out, trying to get an idea of who he'd be facing first. A small girl with blonde hair, no older than nine years old, poked her head through.

"Himawari, I need to go to the bathroom!" she yelled.

Himawari slouched his shoulders once again and sighed. "Hana, I'm a mess right now. I don't need you to be giving me panic attacks. But, go. Be quick. I need you to greet people."

"Okay!"

The door slammed shut.

Himawari stood back up straight and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he chose his assistant correctly. During his grandpa's run as the gym leader, Himawari served as the assistant and referee, but when he took over, he was tasked with going to Mauville City's trainer's school and picking someone to tutor. That person would assist him at the gym until they decided to go off on their own journey.

He picked a young girl who showed interest in Electric-type Pokémon. Unfortunately, she was one of the worst students at the school, and he was beginning to see why. She was late to all of their meetings, was absolutely abysmal with basic battling techniques, and now she was going to the bathroom within five minutes of being on the job.

More waiting.

"You know, you don't have to just stand there like that," Tessen said. He now had a map of Alola sitting on his lap as he planned his next vacation. "Hana will come and get you. Until then, you should relax."

Himawari remained still. "Gramps, this is my first battle as a gym leader. I want to remain focused. I'll relax afterwards."

"We're all excited, kid."

Then, the door opened up slightly again, and Hana slid her head through again. She had a wide grin on her face. "You have a challenger!"

A rush was sent through Himawari's body, and he took one deep breath before standing up straight and making a fist.

"They're someone from the trainer's school. They're new," Hana informed him. "Can I send them in?"

Himawari simply nodded, and Hana slammed the door shut. After a few moments of waiting, the doors began to open automatically, and a little girl wearing a salmon colored one piece was revealed. She walked to the field and looked around, trying to get a feel for what her first match would be like.

Himawari thought long and hard about what he would say when he saw his challengers. He had to intimidate them before their battle. He was going to test them, and they needed to know that he was nothing to mess with. Weeks of thought went into what he'd say to them when they walked through his doors, but in this single moment, he panicked, and the sentence that escaped his lips was, "You come alone?"

The girl smiled. "Yup! My name is Fujioka Memi!"

Himawari stayed stone faced. "And you got your first Pokémon today, correct?"

She nodded and then held out her Poké Ball in excitement. "Yup!"

"In that case, we'll make this a one on one battle. Sound fair?"

"Yup!"

Hana then ran through the door, carrying two flags in her hands. She held them out as though they were wings, and then moments before she could reach her podium, she tripped, landing directly on her face.

Himawari remained still, but he was dying on the inside. He felt as though this was the end of his career as a gym leader, and it was all because of some clumsy girl.

Hana held at her face before she slowly stood back up and then took her position. She held up her arms and then announced, "The following battle will be between gym leader Himawari and challenger…"

"Fujioka Memi."

"Fukuoka Mami! It'll be a one on one battle, and only the challenger can make substitutions."

Himawari couldn't help himself. He facepalmed. "Hana, the challenger can't make substitutions."

"Yes she can! It's in the rules!"

"But it's a one on one battle."

Hana was silent for awhile. She looked back towards the field and huffed. "Begin!"

Himawari pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and held it up high. "As the gym leader, I'm supposed to make my choice first. Good luck, Memi! I won't hold back! Go, Electrike!"

From Himawari's Poké Ball, a small and green Pokémon with yellow strikes running down its body appeared. It stretched out its legs, preparing to pounce when ordered to.

Memi lifted her ball and kissed it on the end before throwing it forward. A Pokémon that Himawari had grown very familiar with emerged. It had small talons that supported a tiny orange body. It chirped and looked up, noticing the angry Electrike.

"Wasn't thinking that I'd have to fight a Torchic today," Himawari muttered. "You're allowed the first move!"

"Torchic, use Scratch!"

_Scratch? Really basic. Maybe she isn't ready, _Himawari thought. "Tackle!"

The two Pokémon charged at one another, and moments before they could reach the middle of the field, Memi made a sudden command.

"Ember!"

Torchic stopped in her tracks before unleashing fire from her mouth, blasting Electrike directly in the face. The Electric-type reeled back before shaking his head to get the fire and smoke out of his eyes.

"Now Scratch!"

Before Himawari could make his command, Torchic jumped forward and slashed with her claws. She connected with Electrike directly, forcing him backwards. He turned back to Himawari, who was unsure of what approach to take.

_I have to stay balanced. I can't overdo it because she's a new trainer, but I also can't look like a chump. I have to try to win, but I can't beat her down relentlessly. This is so complicated. What do I do?!_ HImawari screamed internally.

"Ember!" Memi's voice called.

"Dodge! And then use your Thunder Wave!"

As soon as Torchic unleashed more of the small flames onto the field, Electrike started to roll out of the way, easily avoiding the attack. Once the flames dissipated, Electrike howled as he released a wave of electricity from his body.

"Dodge!" Memi yelled.

Torchic jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the thin wave of electricity.

"Now Sand Attack!"

Torchic scratched the surface of Himawari's black field, ripping some dirt from the ground and then tossing it forward. It connected with Electrike's face, and he started a small coughing fit.

"Yeah! Now your attacks won't hit so easily!" Memi said. "One more Ember!"

With that, Torchic released the small gouts of flames. They barraged into Electrike repeatedly, knocking him backwards. Electrike recovered, but his eyes were shut tight and he shook his head wildly.

"Let's calm down, Electrike!" Himawari ordered. His Pokémon took a few deep breaths before slowly calming down. Himawari then turned his attention to Memi and her Torchic. "Kid, you clearly know battle strategy, and you're very talented. But one thing you didn't prepare for was my gym's special technique."

"Special technique?"

"You've taken away my Electrike's eyesight momentarily, but with our special technique, we will not miss."

"What do you mean?"

The gym leaders were tasked with not only testing gym challengers, but also introducing them to unique attacks and abilities. A simple test by battling was seen as too easy for the Pokémon League, so they requested many years back that every gym develop their own unique strategy. Because of this, Tessen made sure he formed a strategy that no one could escape from. Himawari studied the technique closely, and he used it with pride when he could.

Himawari raised his hand into the air dramatically. "Electrike, use Shock Wave!"

Electrike charged energy within himself. Keeping his eyes closed, he released blue electricity from his body. It washed over the entirety of the field, striking Torchic directly. The Fire-type rolled back as she was pelted with the electric wave. When the sparks faded, Torchic laid limp on the ground.

Hana looked closely at Torchic, waiting for any indication for the results of battle. She started to raise her flag but then stopped when she saw Torchic's body flinching. Slowly, the Fire-type stood back up, her small talons shaking slightly. She looked at Electrike through one eye as she heaved from exhaustion.

"Torchic, we can do this! Finish Electrike with Ember!"

"Electrike! Use one more Shock Wave!"

The two Pokémon unleashed their attacks onto the field. Flames met sparks, and there was a small explosion of electricity. One attack had to give in though, and it was Electrike's. The small pellets of fire continued their trail down the field, and they barraged Electrike in the face. The Electrike's legs soon gave in, and he fell to the ground, his body unmoving.

Memi finally raised a flag. "Electrike is unable to battle! Torchic and Meri are the winners!"

"Memi!" Himawari snapped.

"Memi and Meri are the winners!"

Himawari sighed, but he let it go. He lifted his Poké Ball and returned the Electric-type Pokémon. Afterwards, he met with Memi in the middle of the field. The young challenger celebrated with her Pokémon joyfully, and Himawari received his badge box from Hana. He opened it up before handing over the small yellow and grey badge.

"This is the Dynamo Badge. Congratulations."

Hana held up the badge high into the air and marveled at it. She was now one step closer to achieving her dream.

"I can't tell you want to do, but I recommend heading south to Dewford from here," Himawari said. "It can be a hassle to have to go back there."

"I got it!" Memi said happily.

_I lost my first battle as a gym leader. That's kind of a hard pill to swallow. But I have to remember that tests are made to be passed, challenges are there to be overcome, and gym leaders exist to be beaten,_ Himawari mulled over. He looked over at his grandpa who simply smiled cheerfully back at him. Tears were streaming down his cheeks to his beard.

The rest of the day was filled with Himawari taking on new challengers and berating Hana every time that she messed up her referee speech. Every time that she messed it up, Himawari forced her to clean the battlefield with only a single rag. Eventually, she got the hang of it though, and looked like a professional referee within hours.

The day was almost over and Himawari, Hana, and Tessen all sat in the stands. They looked out at the field. Himawari was exhausted. He wasn't aware that battling could take so much out of a person. It was very much a mental exhaustion though as it was Hana who was forced to do all of the physical labor of the gym.

"It'll get easier," Tessen said. "It'll all get easier."

"Finding the right balance right now is so difficult," Himawari replied. "After traveling and battling with some of the strongest trainers I've ever met, it's almost embarrassing to lose to a beginning trainer. I lost to a Torchic."

"I bet even I could beat you," Hana said with a grin on her face. "And I'm terrible."

Himawari wanted to hit her, but he kept all of his anger bottled.

"You'll find your balance sooner than later. Don't ever let your pride get in the way," Tessen coached. "Got it?"

"Got it."

Hana laughed. "You got all of that pride because you're some kind of 'dragon guardian,' right?"

Himawari kept his reply to himself. Months earlier, he had learned that his mother's side of the family were Dragon-type trainers. It was something that they had been doing for generations, but he was never told because his duties were as the eventual gym leader of an Electric-type gym. He was told that he had dragon's blood, and it's something he had recently been telling girls to make them like him. But Hana wasn't wrong. Since he found out about his special connection to Dragon-type Pokémon, his pride and confidence had increased tenfold.

He shook his head. "I have a lot of pride, because I'm hot."

Before they could continue their conversation about balance and pride, the door creaked open once more. Himawari groaned as yet again another trainer started to make their way through the doors. He slowly walked down the steps as the trainer came into sight. This trainer was a boy who looked only a year or so younger than Himawari. He wore fashionable sportswear and had a cocky grin on his face as he chewed on a toothpick.

"Here for a battle?" Himawari asked.

The trainer spit the toothpick out onto the field and folded his arms. "Yeah. I'm here to collect my first gym badge in Hoenn."

"You've competed somewhere else before?"

"Johto and Kanto. One of the best trainers to come from the area, buddy."

"What's your name?"

"Takami."

Himawari observed the toothpick on the ground and then the general demeanor that the boy had. He smiled. "Simple rules. One on one sound good?"

"Yep."

The two turned and started back for their respective trainers boxes. Himawari looked to Tessen who simply nodded with a stern look on his face.

"The following match will be a one on one battle between challenger, Takami, and gym leader, Himawari! It will conclude when one side's Pokémon has fainted. Begin!"

"Get 'em, Steelix!" Takami yelled while he threw his Poké Ball into the air. It exploded, and a massive serpentine Pokémon made of steel and iron appeared onto the field. It roared, shaking the entirety of the gym.

"Cute," Himawari said. He drew a Premier Ball from his belt, and the bracelet around his wrist started to radiate with energy. "Very cute."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

So, that's that. Very simple. Very easy. This is a short spin-off from my story that just wrapped up called Healing in Hoenn. I wanted to get into what one of the character's life would be like after the journey, so this is that. It includes a few references and such to the original story, so if you were intrigued by this, then maybe check out Healing in Hoenn. Or don't.

Merry Christmas!

**A QUICK NOTE ON POKEMON CAPITALIZATION**

I understand that there's this little war going on within the community, and I just want to say that I don't want to be apart of any of it. I've decided to capitalize the way that I want to. I own countless official Pokémon storybooks that I read to kids, and they capitalize Pokémon names and such. I don't care if you do or don't. Don't waste your time reviewing that aspect of my story. It will fall on deaf ears.


	2. Naomi Morgan

**KokoroEcho's Pokemon Chronicles**

**Entry 2**

**Naomi Morgan**

**Aim For Manalo!**

* * *

It was a hot day in Alola, as usual. For the residents of Alola, they could feel the cool autumn breeze coming in, but to the tourists who came from all around the world, it was summer weather. The heat was something that they had expected, but nothing that one can truly prepare for.

Naomi Morgan, a girl aged thirteen years, exited from the Pokemon Center in Heahea City. She recently had an intense battle with the Psychic-type gym leader nearby, and her Pokemon needed the time to relax. At her side was a small, round, and white Pokemon. It had been with her for a while now, so it was the only Pokemon to make it out of the battle without any injuries.

"Where do we go, Wooloo?" she asked. She spoke with an accent heard throughout Galar, and she had a deadpan expression on her face which was framed by her black hair, that was cut in an asymmetrical bob cut. "I'm thinking the beach."

"Baaa," her Pokemon responded.

The two slowly strolled through Heahea City. Dozens of children played in the street with their Pokemon. The people who lived around the area were in their yards, and their Pokemon appeared like they were helping to attend to the gardens.

Once they found the path that led to the beach, Naomi took her time while her Wooloo used the steep hill to have fun and roll all the way down. Naomi had already prepared for the beach, and she wore a lavender bathing suit under her black jeans and purple tank top. Although a bit shy, she changed and then found a spot in the sand that had some natural shade from the tall trees in Alola.

She sat down while Wooloo played in the sand. He ran back and forth, getting closer and closer to the water each time, but he could never decide if he actually wanted to get in it or not.

Naomi watched as the kids in the ocean played with a Lapras. It had a small chair on its back which allowed for people to ride on it with ease. It kind of took her by surprise. When she traveled through Galar, she never had to ride on the back of any Pokemon to cross bodies of water, and when she had to ride Pokemon in Johto and Hoenn, they never came with comfortable seats.

She was spending her fourth year of traveling in Alola. Every year, she tried something new. A couple of years ago, she had competed in the Galar league, where she lost to the defending champion, and then she took on the Silver Conference, where she placed in the semi-finals. Last year, she challenged contests in Hoenn, but this was ultimately where she felt at her weakest. Now, she was in Alola where she planned her ultimate test. Taking on the island challenge and gyms simultaneously was almost unheard of, but if anyone could do it, it was Naomi Morgan.

Woolo finally got up the courage, and he took a dive into the water. When he returned back to shore, his wool had been soaked wet, and it dragged against the sand, but the Pokemon didn't care one bit. He continued to smile at Naomi who responded with her own gentle smile.

Naomi looked past Wooloo and into the ocean. There was a massive wave coming to Akala Island, but none of the beach goers looked worried. In fact, some of them seemed to be cheering for the wave. She stood up and approached the ocean to get a better look, letting the water come up to her ankles.

Sure enough, there was something, or someone, on the wave. A Mantine with a girl on its back was weaving up and down on the wave. Occasionally the two would ascend, jump into the air, do a variety of flips, and then go back to riding the wave after a perfect landing. With every trick, the people in the crowd went more and more crazy until she pulled off something that Naomi couldn't even explain. It had so many flips and turns that she thought it looked almost impossible, but the little girl did it with such grace and ease.

The girl pulled up onto shore, and the crowd were quick to meet her. They tossed her into the air repeatedly as though she had won a contest or something. Naomi still wasn't entirely sure what was happening. The Mantine swam away to greet a handler. It wasn't owned by the little girl, and it appeared like the handler also wasn't its official trainer.

"The way that Pokemon live in Alola is astounding," she muttered.

"Woo!" her Pokemon cried as he shook the water from his body. His cotton puffed out almost double the size of what it was originally, making Naomi laugh.

* * *

A few days later, Naomi was on her way to the next challenge in a location called Brooklet Hill. It was set to be her third trial overall, but she wasn't worrying about it.

Instead, she relaxed on Paniola Ranch. On her shoulder sat a small and round Pokemon. She ate ice cream that they made from Moomoo milk, and occasionally her Pokemon would sneak a couple of bites. It didn't have an easy time getting the ice cream down, as its beak wasn't used to the texture.

Naomi enjoyed the smell of the ranch. It reminded her of her childhood and when she'd spend time on the farm with her family. Her paternal grandparents lived in Galar, and they worked on a farm where they raised Wooloo. And her maternal grandparents lived in Johto where they raised herds of Mareep. Her parents fell in love when they were young over their shared interest of farming and raising similar Pokemon.

This ranch was a little bit different from the ones that Naomi had familiarized herself with. The farms in Galar and Johto were mostly run by humans and only humans, but there were plenty of Pokemon helping to keep Paniola Ranch maintained.

A farm boy rode on top of a large Stoutland who sniffed the ground for leftover berries and unwanted weeds. Occasionally, he would find a Pokemon that would disrupt their crops, and he'd chase them away.

On the other side of the ranch, they were preparing to plant seeds. They hitched a big tiller to a Tauros' back, and he lugged it around to evenly divide the land and tear up the soil for crops. In Galar, Naomi once had to do this by hand, and it took her a whole week to do what Tauros was capable of in a couple of hours.

The Pokemon on Naomi's shoulder hooted softly as it begged for the remaining cone that she held in her hand. She smiled before offering it to the Pokemon. "Here you are, Rowlet."

"Rrrow," it chirped happily.

"People and Pokemon work together no matter where you go in the world," she said. "Countless Machamp and Conkeldurr are hired to do construction work and heavy lifting."

Rowlet had no idea what she was talking about, but it enjoyed the cone nonetheless.

"But, I think that because Alola is so small, there's sort of an unstated agreement between the Pokemon and people. They need to work together in harmony to survive. I imagine it's been like this for years."

"Rrrowlet?"

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

* * *

It took Naomi Morgan roughly a month to defeat the second Akala Island gym and the remaining trials, because she wanted to make sure that she was getting the most out of her journey in Alola. She was still yet to experience a ride Pokemon, but everything else, from the shopping to eating malasadas, she made sure to do it in plenty.

She returned to the beach that she had gone to a month earlier. Today she wore her regular clothes, and she stuck out like a sore thumb on the beach. One of her newest Pokemon, a small Electric-type, sat on her head, which only helped to make her stick out even more. She got looks from others as she slowly and shyly approached the surfing association's hut.

"Um… Alola," she said nervously as the receptionist with dyed blonde hair and sunburnt shoulders noticed her. "I'd like to travel to Ula'ula Island."

"Travel?" the dude asked. "You don't travel, brah. You surf!"

"Pichu?" the Pokemon on Naomi's head wondered.

Naomi gulped. "I'd like to surf to Ula'ula Island."

"That's more like it, brah!"

Within only a few moments, the dude prepared a Mantine for Naomi to surf on. She watched as he hooked up some kind of saddle to its back.

"I think I want to study the relationships between Pokemon and humans," Naomi said to Pichu. "Up until I came to Alola, my understanding of what that relationship was like was kind of shortsighted. I saw Pokemon as partners for trainers, but Alola has something different. Everyone here lives in a way that I never imagined."

"Pichu!"

"How about we do our best this year, Pichu. We go to the Alola league, and we win! And then, we'll work together to bring these kinds of cohesive relationships to other regions."

"Pichu-pi!"

"Alright brah, Mantine's ready!"

"Let's go!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Decided to do a relatively short piece today. It was on Naomi Morgan, who was a character submitted to me by wisdom-jewel. She appeared a couple of times in Healing in Hoenn. I took the time to write this, because wisdom-jewel has been a longtime supporter of my writing. Before I started writing Logan and Yurie's journey, I had a separate account, and wisdom-jewel reviewed everything I wrote on that account too, so this is my thank you to her.

Thank you for your continued support.


	3. The DNA Attack - Part 1

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 3**

**Pokémon Ranger - The DNA Attack - Part 1**

**Written by CrescentApple**

**Edited by KokoroEcho**

* * *

Deep in the luscious jungle of an island, two men walked through a foliage of thick, heavy leaves. The man in front, heavily muscled with a red sleeveless shirt and a brown hat, spread a machete to and fro, his face a sheen of sweat.

Behind him followed a shorter, skinnier man in khakis and a tucked-in shirt, his face buried in the map before him. Beside him floated an odd, small Pokémon made of stone, with a large orange nose that jerked slightly.

Sounds of Pokémon rustled around them, but none dared to move forward, as they rarely received human visitors before. They simply watched warily as the two men trudged through the hot jungle.

Suddenly the skinny man shouted, and the muscular man paused as they observed the stone Pokémon suddenly jerk its nose towards their right. They followed, and within ten minutes they came upon a large clearing, oddly devoid of much vegetation.

A high pedestal nestled in the middle with a large black stone shaped-triangle sat atop it. The skinny man pulled out a container that housed a tiny black stone about the size of a finger. He held an instrument over it, then outwards to the larger triangle. He grinned.

"This one's the real deal; not another fake. Let's go."

The skinny man trundled forward, but the muscular man held out an arm, his eyes scanning the clearing, before he slowly pulled out a Poké Ball behind his belt. But no trouble came as they approached the altar.

The muscular man, only known as Code, kept watch as his boss, Kagasu, opened his backpack and removed various complicated-looking instruments. He set them all around the triangle while looking at his watch, then the sky every few seconds.

Code didn't know much about technology, so he had to trust that Kagasu knew what he was doing. All he could garner was that the triangle, which Kagasu claimed was not from earth, was some sort of emitter, but it was extremely weak that even the most sophisticated computers could barely detect it. The instruments Kagasu placed around the triangle would help magnify its pulses, as far as space.

Finished, the duo waited a few hours, the sun already down, but the humidity remained. Code was anxious, but it was nothing to his boss, who kept checking the sky. Suddenly, he ran to his equipment. Above them a long green streak cut through the sky, flying over their heads and passed their atmosphere.

Kagasu pressed a switch and backed away from the triangle as it slowly began to bleed red veins over its stony surface, until the entire thing was red. In seconds the triangle glowed a hot red, bathing the entire clearing in its color.

Above them the green streak suddenly curved, angling sharply downwards. It slowly increased in size the closer it approached. The two men ran from the triangle as the green comet collided with it. But there was no explosion. The color shifted from red to green as a large silhouette floated above the triangle.

The light faded to reveal a bizarre humanoid of a creature. Its wide unblinking eyes observed the duo as its arms slowly morphed into slithering tentacles.

Kagasu exclaimed happily as he stood and righted his glasses. "We did it, Code! We finally did it!"

As the scientist continued to rant on, Code just stared, transfixed, as the chest on the creature glowed bright green again, darkening its facial features.

"We found Deoxys!"

* * *

**Many hours later**

**Miles away**

**On the very same island **

A young girl trudged through the jungle, pushing aside leaves until she found a tiny stream and followed it. She gathered her short brown hair and attempted to smooth it behind her head in an attempt to get the sticky strands away from her face. She wore a black shirt with a long beige skirt. She hefted her beige backpack higher as she observed the terrain. Beside her padded a small penguin-looking Pokémon with a white chest.

"Dumb heat," Michika muttered. "But we might find some good Pokémon here. What do you think spooked those Pokémon earlier?"

Her Pokémon chirped, unsure.

Earlier Michika had nearly been trampled by a horde of Pokémon as they ran, fleeing from another direction. Michika had been hesitant, but figured it was probably a really strong Pokémon and walked in the direction they fled. If she caught whatever it was, it would help boost her team's prowess a lot.

In her mind's eye, a girl about her age, with long brown hair and brown eyes suddenly appeared. She gritted her teeth with a smile. "One day soon, Yurie."

"Piplup?"

"I'm so psyched, Piplup. I can't wait to find another Pokémon for the grand festival! Just imagine if we found-"

Michika whirled around. No one behind her. But the girl continued to stare. She could have sworn she heard something. She felt a tug at her skirt. Piplup was pointing upwards. Above them, crouched in the shades of the leaves was a dark silhouette.

"Water Gun!" Michika screeched.

"Pip!" the small water penguin blew a stream of water up the trees. There was a shout, and a boy fell from the tree.

He stood, soaked, a scowl plastered on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, spying on me?!" Michika shouted.

The boy growled as he shook the water from his hair. Suddenly, a small tawny cat with pink fur on her back and ears appeared beside him, looking as though she were preparing to attack.

"Skitty!" it meowed.

"First you spy on me, then you try to attack me?!" Michika yelled, affronted.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "What do you know of the green comet that crashed here?"

Did this boy not hear a single word she just said? "You're being rude."

"I'm working. Did you see a green comet last night?"

Michika sighed and crossed her arms. "You mean that green glow? I thought it was fireworks or something."

The boy stood straight. He would have looked a little intimidating if he did not stand there, shivering slightly in his brightly colored boy scout getup. Though Michika wondered if he even realized that for himself. "What are you doing here?"

"Nu-uh, bud. I asked first."

The boy's lips thinned. He honestly didn't want to answer, but he figured the truth would be quicker. He pulled out a card and presented it to Michika. "My name is Haru Nagai. I'm a Pokémon Ranger. I'm here on an investigation. Any information you have can be appreciated."

Michika handed the card back. "I don't know what a Pokémon Ranger is. Do they patrol parks or something?"

Haru combed his hand through his blond hair. He really didn't want to say more. "It's more than that. We patrol different regions to protect Pokémon from abuse and poaching."

"Like I said, I thought those were fireworks or something. I had no idea a comet came here. This jungle can be so dense." Michika explained she had found the island completely by accident, and only came here to catch Pokémon. She raised her eyebrows. "Unless that's illegal."

"No."

"Oh, and the Pokémon around here have been acting weird lately," she added thoughtfully.

He nodded for her to continue.

"They were all running away from over there." She pointed further down the jungle. Haru peered through the trees, but he couldn't see anything. Whatever it was, it was probably further through the jungle.

"Thanks." He pulled out a small device and held it up. He frowned. "No signal. You should get out of here." He added to Michika as he made his way through the foliage, Skitty trotting beside him.

"Hey, wait, I'm not going anywhere!" Michika called, running to catch up to him.

"It could be dangerous."

"I'm not scared. I've faced a lot of dangers too!"

"No."

"You can't stop me. Come on, it'll be fun if we go together as a team!"

Haru, for the first time, looked uncomfortable. "I work best alone."

"You have a Skitty."

"That's different."

"Well, I'm not leaving. What if it's a rare Pokémon?! I want first dibs."

"I'm not here to catch Pokémon. I-," Haru struggled for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped. "Fine. But be careful."

Michika grinned as the duo now walked through the jungle. Sweat poured profusely from her face, and the thick leaves were not helping.

"I'll take care of them," Haru said. He reached for a device that he had clipped on his belt and held it out. He looked around the jungle, finding a large green Pokémon with scythes for hands. He aimed his device and pushed a button. Suddenly, a top exploded from the device and it began to circle around the Pokémon, taking it by surprise.

"What are you doing?" Michika asked.

"I'm using my capture styler. We'll borrow Scyther's abilities momentarily, and then they'll be on their way." Haru held the device up, and a long antennae extended from it. It began to wave his arm around in circles, controlling the top. The top followed Haru's motions as it surrounded the Scyther. The Bug-type went from surprised to relaxed in a matter of moments, appearing as though it was domesticated instantly.

"Whoa."

"Scyther, clear us a path! Use Slash!"

"Scyther!" the Pokémon cried out. It dashed forward and jumped in front of Michika and Haru before slashing, tearing up the leaves to create a rough trail. When the path was clear, the antennae on Haru's device retracted, and the top came back to his hand as though it were pulled by some kind of magnetic force. Scyther shot a glance at Haru, and then flew away.

"Easy as that," Haru said. "Rangers don't usually have their own personal Pokémon with the exception of one partner, like my Skitty. Generally speaking, we work with the wild Pokémon in the area."

Michika smiled. "That's so cool!"

As they walked, they could feel something in the air. A strange hum that wouldn't go away. Michika picked at her ear. The humming grew in intensity, and through the canopy of leaves they began to see green light.

* * *

**KOKORO'S NOTES:**

A couple of months ago, CrescentApple wrote a short story on his profile that took place in the PokéUniverse that I had been working with (sort of a fanfiction of a fanfiction, which is cool). It kind of gave me the idea to have him guest write for the chronicles story that I have going. So, this will be a two-part entry for KokoroEcho's chronicles in the vain of the short movies that I would write. Thanks to CrescentApple for giving this a quick go. He wrote the main part/skeleton of the story, and I did most of the editing (where editing was necessary).

**CRESCENTAPPLE'S NOTES:**

This was an idea Kokoro and I came up with. Haru and Michika are Kokoro's creations. Code and Kagasu are mine. Code's name is a pun for secret codes. He doesn't give out his real name. Kagasu is a play on the Japanese word for 'scientist' (kagakusha). That triangle and Kagasu's machine will be explained a bit more clearly in the next chapter.


	4. The DNA Attack - Part 2

KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles

Entry 3

Pokémon Ranger - The DNA Attack - Part 2

Written by CrescentApple

Edited by KokoroEcho

* * *

"Is it really communicating?"

"Of course. We just can't hear it. It's almost like a form of radio waves. Why do you think it hasn't attacked us yet?" Kagasu waved towards the laptop. It was emitting faint warbling. On the laptop screen, green lines twisted and contorted. "This laptop is emitting a faint signature similar to Deoxys's speech patterns."

Code glanced back at the motionless Pokémon floating above the triangle. It had not blinked yet. "What are you saying to it?"

"'Hello.'"

Kagasu began typing, his fingers flying over the laptop, a look of excess excitement over his face. "First, we test its power." The twisting lines on the screen suddenly thickened and warbled violently.

For the first time in hours, Deoxys moved. It suddenly spun around, its four tentacles angled in front of it. A large ball of light grew between the tips. Like a cannon that went off, the ball of light exploded forward. A tremendous boom reverberated. A large plume of explosion engulfed the area.

The light illuminated Kagasu's crazed face. "Magnificent."

Before them stood a large crater, devoid of all trees and vegetation.

Code slowly lowered his arms. "What did you say?"

"Someone tried to attack it from behind."

"How are we supposed to catch it?"

"That's the difficult part." Kagasu pulled out a yellow and black Pokéball. "We may have to-"

"Swift!"

Stars of light punched through the air. Code grabbed Kagasu and pulled him to safety as the stars penetrated the ground the scientist had been crouched upon.

Two kids walked into the clearing. Code's frown deepened. That boy, he was wearing the Pokémon Ranger's uniform. Beside the boy walked a girl who didn't look like she knew what she was doing.

She suddenly froze, mouth open in wonder as Deoxys turned its eyes upon the newcomers. Haru glanced warily at Deoxys before he pointed at the scientist, clutching his laptop to his chest.

"Kagasu, you're under arrest for attempted terrorism with Team Aqua." Haru glanced at Code. "You and your associate will have to come with me."

Kagasu laughed. "Are you serious?! Do you not see the legendary Pokémon behind us?! I'm not going anywhere. Now, how about I send Deoxys to attack you two?" Kagasu opened his laptop. The keypad was cracked with a star-shaped symbol.

Haru smiled. "I was watching. You used that to communicate. Without it, you're on your own."

"No!" Kagasu screeched. "Code, stop them while I repair the laptop!" He threw a white and blue Poké Ball beside him. A large round creature with small fins and a wide mouth appeared. It narrowed its tiny eyes at Haru and Michika threateningly. "Wailmer, keep watch for me!"

"Vivillon, Arctozolt, go!" Code yelled.

A gray butterfly with multi-patterned violet wings and a large heavy blue Pokémon with a tiny yellow head and equally tiny yellow hands appeared.

"Skitty, go!"

Michika pointed wildly at Arctozolt? "Is it okay? That Pokémon looks out of place!"

"Michika!"

"Right, um, Pachirisu!"

A small white squirrel with blue stripes and blue cheeks appeared beside Skitty. The squirrel grinned with malice. Vivillion hissed angrily.

"Vivillon, Gust attack. Arctozolt, Bolt Beak!"

The butterfly flapped her wings, blowing Pachirisu back, but Skitty held on to the ground. Arctozolt came forward, and his beak sparked with electricity. He slammed his beak into the Pokémon, making Skitty cry out in pain.

"Pachirisu, Electro Ball!"

A ball of electricity formed on Pachirisu's tail. He twisted his body and flung the ball of electricity towards Arctozolt. The Pokémon squawked as he was pushed back. Skitty shrugged off the electricity and glared.

"Skitty, Shadow Ball at Vivillon!"

"Psybeam!"

Both Pokémon unleashed their ball of shadowy energy and beam of multicolored light. They canceled each other in midair.

Vivillion flew to stay by Arctozolt's side.

"They're buying time," Haru said. "Michika, I need you to destroy that laptop."

"Do you have another Pokémon?"

Haru shook his head. He looked around, but the entire area was clear of any wild Pokémon that he could call upon.

"How do you expect to beat him with just Skitty?"

"This isn't important. If Kagasu fixes that laptop, he'll have control of Deoxys, and it's all over!"

Michika hesitated. "Fine, but I'll leave Pachirisu to you. She could counter Arctozolt's electricity."

Michika took a deep breath and ran around the clearing, making a wide circle around the battling trainers.

"Arctozolt, Powder Snow!"

Michika gasped as the fiery dinosaur Pokémon blew freezing snow towards her. She ran wildly, barely missing the attack as Pachirisu pounced upon Arctozolt, throwing its aim off course. Vivillion attempted to attack her. A Shadow Ball shot through one of her wings, spiraling her downwards.

"Your fight is with me!" Haru said quietly.

"You're going to regret those words," Code snarled.

"Vivillon, Psybeam. Arctozolt, Ancient Power!"

"Skitty, Play Rough. Pachirisu, Discharge!"

The three attacks collided. When the smoke cleared Skitty ran through, colliding with Vivillon.

Code snarled. This kid was really getting on his nerves.

"Piplup, Water Gun that laptop!"

"Hydro Pump!"

Both Wailmer and Piplup released powerful bursts of water. The pressure knocked Piplup back. Wailmer's large bulk only made him slide a few inches. He smiled widely.

"Maybe I should have kept Pachirisu," Michika muttered, flinging wet hair from her face. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam!"

Kagasu tried to fix the laptop while focusing on the battle, but he was forced to give up and put the laptop to the side. "Brine!"

Wailmer dipped his head forward. His spout exploded with water that shot in the air before raining down on the field, obliterating the bubbles.

This guy knows how to fight, Michika thought. "Piplup, get in close. Use Drill Peck!"

Piplup's beak glowed white and sharpened to a point. He ran forward and jabbed his beak. Wailmer didn't fall back, but his eyes scrunched up in pain.

"It's small; trap it with Body Slam!"

"Dodge," Michika ordered.

Wailmer tried to roll forward, but Piplup's small and quick body enabled him to barely move aside from the large form.

"Move around and keep using Drill Peck!'

Piplup's constant movement and sharp jabs were too much for Wailmer. He gave up trying to body slam the penguin and curled up in pain. Kagasu looked uncertain.

"Rest," he said through gritted teeth.

Wailmer closed his eyes and slumped forward. His injuries immediately healed.

Michika wanted to keep fighting, but she didn't forget her goal.

"Piplup, Water Gun the laptop."

Piplup sent a stream of water towards the scientist.

"Magnezone, use your body to shield me!"

A large saucer-like Pokémon that Michika had taken for a piece of machinery suddenly floated upwards in front of the attack. Electricity flew wildly as it retaliated with a bolt of electricity. Michika barely dodged to the side as Piplup took the brunt force of the attack.

Why does he even have an electric Pokémon? Didn't he work for Team Aqua? Michika thought exasperatedly.

To Kagasu's surprise, the water Pokémon didn't faint. Piplup breathed heavily and raised his arms defiantly.

"Piplup may not look much, but she's extremely tough." Even as Michika said this, she knew her chances of victory were slim. Piplup looked like she could barely stand.

"Why do you keep fighting?" Kagasu asked suddenly.

Michika didn't respond.

"I'm not looking to cause trouble. I just want to use Deoxys to study it and the mysteries of the universe."

"I'd believe you-"

Kagasu smiled.

"-if it wasn't for that." Kagasu followed her gaze, at the enormous crater just outside the clearing. When Kagasu looked back at her, his eyes were cold.

"Magnezone, Gyro Ball."

Magnezone lifted its tiny magnetic arms. A gray ball grew in front of its eye. It shot it downwards. Piplup fell back with a thud.

"Piplup, can you still fight?"

Piplup struggled to her feet and flexed her tiny flippers defiantly.

"Okay, this is what we were going to practice for the contest. Use Whirlpool."

Piplup raised her arms. A large pool of water formed above her head. She threw the spiraling water at Magnezone.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Surf!"

"What?!"

Magnezone sent a torrent of electricity at the incoming wave, disrupting its path. The Whirlpool dipped and swerved until it righted itself into an electric wave of water ridden by the penguin Pokémon.

Piplup flinched as the electricity shocked her, but she held on as she washed the wave of water and electricity over Magnezone and Kagasu. The scientist's screams of frustration died underwater. When the water disappeared Magnezone still floated weakly before them. Beside it lay a fainted Piplup.

Kagasu acted like he had not even been shocked. He shook the sodden laptop, staring helplessly at the garbled static screen. Code and Haru halted their battle.

"No no no!"

Michika cheered. "We did it!"

Wailmer took that moment to wake up. "You've done it now, you silly girl. Wailmer, use Ice Beam on her. Then destroy the ice into tiny pieces!"

Michika took a step back fearfully as Wailmer's beady little eyes moved and locked on her. Before she could summon her next Pokémon, a low unearthly hum shook the air. All heads turned to Deoxys. It was flicking its tentacles wildly. Its head jerked at each trainer, eyes widened even further as energy began to course through its body.

"What's happening?" Code shouted. "Kagasu, is it leaving?"

Kagasu tried to work on his laptop. It was emitting garbled sounds. "I-I don't know! I think Deoxys is misreading it. I don't know what the laptop is saying!"

"I have an idea," Haru muttered as the alien Pokémon pointed each tentacle at a trainer.

Michika suddenly realized that she was on the other side of the clearing, away from Haru. For a moment everyone tensed; Deoxys raised its tentacles, each charged with energy. Arctozolt faced Deoxys while Vivillon continued to glare at Skitty. Pachirisu tilted her head to Deoxys when she saw her trainer on the other side. Magnezone wavered hesitantly between Michika and Deoxys. Wailmer stared open-mouthed at the alien Pokémon.

Everyone attacked.

Michika ducked, narrowly avoiding a beam of energy as she whipped out another Poké Ball.

"Absol, Air Cutter!"

A large lithe feline-like Pokémon with fur angling from one face and a horn jutting upwards on the other side twisted her head while unleashing energy. Michika couldn't see if Absol hit his mark. Too much dust rose. Beams of light shot through the cloudy particles. Bodies tackled. She raised her arm to her eyes, trying to find her Pokémon. Deoxys suddenly loomed through the dust cloud over her, charging a beam of psychic energy.

Absol flew to the side and pushed Michika out of the way.

The beams struck.

And did nothing.

"Absol, Dark Pulse!" Michika shouted from the ground.

Absol released a pulse of dark energy. Deoxys fell back into the cloud, and Absol quickly followed, obscuring Michika's view of the battle yet again. Kagasu suddenly crawled past her with Wailmer beside him.

"I don't think so! Chimecho!" A small blue Pokémon with a long flag beneath its body and a yellow knob on its head appeared.

Kagasu looked up angrily, then his face broke into such a gleeful smile Michika took a step back. He scrambled to her side. "Your Chimecho!"

"Chimecho, use-"

"No, no, I don't want to fight!" Kagasu held up his arms imploringly, raising his other hand to halt Wailmer. "Your Chimecho can communicate with Deoxys. Tell it to stop!"

Michika studied him warily as he continued frantically. "Deoxys communicates through certain cosmic or possibly radio waves. But with Chimecho's psychic powers and ability to create vibration patterns, it might be close enough to communicate!"

"Meaning?"

"Fake cosmic rays!"

Was that even possible? Michika doubted Deoxys was in any mood to talk, but she didn't think they would last long against an enraged alien Pokémon.

"Chimecho," Michika grabbed her Pokémon and ducked low as the fighting continued. "Do you think you could communicate with Deoxys?"

Chimecho shook, eyes wide with terror as only it could clearly hear the enraged sounds Deoxys pulsed from its body. But she shook her head and nodded quickly. Michika smiled. "I'll be right here. Do your best."

Chimecho raised herself above the onslaught of battle and released a loud wave of sound. It wasn't enough to hurt anyone, but it parted the clouds. Michika could see Haru on the ground, Deoxys standing over him with its tentacles pointed at his sides. Pachirisu, Magnezone, Vivillion, and Arctozolt were unconscious. Code was in mid-dodge as Skitty had tried to attack him.

Deoxys slowly tilted its head upwards. Chimecho shuddered under its intense glare. But watching Haru on the ground, Chimecho worked up the courage and continued to release its psychic waves, shaking its flag and using its psychic energy to create various vibrations and patterns.

Michika pointed to herself and Haru. "Tell it we mean it no harm." She pointed at Code and Kagasu. "They were trying to control it, and we stopped it."

"Snitch!"

Chimecho continued its communication.

Deoxys stood and walked away from Haru, losing interest in him immediately. Kagasu fully stood as Deoxys came closer.

"Deoxys, it's such an honor." Chimecho looked to Michika. She nodded, and the Pokémon translated.

Deoxys just watched.

"I've waited so so long to meet you. To study the universe. Please join me. I just want to learn and understand you. I don't want power or glory. Simply knowledge."

This time Michika wasn't sure if she should allow Chimecho to translate. Wouldn't that be swaying the Pokémon? She looked to Haru for help. He just watched. Big help from him.

"Uh, go ahead Chimecho. Translate that part too."

Deoxys's eyes flashed green. At the same moment, Kagasu's eyes flashed. He collapsed. Wailmer moaned as he trudged under the scientist before he could hit the ground. Michika hesitantly grabbed Kagasu and helped him on the ground. His eyes were wide open, but there was a hazy look to them. Whatever he was seeing, it kept the smile on his face.

Deoxys took a few steps back and spread its arms. It floated for a few moments with its psychic energy. It raised itself higher and higher until it was a tiny indiscernible figure in the sky. There was a flash of light. And the next moment a large green comet blazing upwards, turned sharply in mid-air, and flew towards the horizon higher and higher until it left the atmosphere, disappearing into the far reaches of space.

"Radio's working again," Haru muttered to the silence.

* * *

Later, other Pokémon Rangers came and arrested Code and Kagasu. At first, the Rangers were stunned, unsure if the scientist was having a stroke. Under question, Code simply stated Kagasu got what he wanted, but it would take a while for his brain to sort through the sudden information dump. Haru and Michika were flown back to the dock on a large Pidgeot. Michika, in her fright, clung to Haru.

Later the duo sat in the Pokémon Center, eating burgers and fries. Skitty was chowing down hungrily into her bowl, while Piplup waved her arms wildly while eating, telling Chimecho about her battle. Absol ate, flicking his head boastfully as he communicated with an awed Pachirisu. They probably talk about his battle with Deoxys.

"Thanks for the help," Haru said, after swallowing a mouthful of burger. He had wanted to leave, but he was starving so he decided it didn't hurt to stay a bit longer with Michika. She didn't seem to mind the company.

"I don't care what he said. Kagasu looked like he wanted to control Deoxys and gave up for the second-best thing," Michika exclaimed.

Haru shrugged, eyes on his food.

"What do you think really happened to him?"

"I don't really care."

Machika sulked slightly. "Still, it was a great experience." She fidgeted with her burger. She had been terrified of the way Deoxys looked, but it didn't turn out to be that bad of a Pokémon after all. Unless she counted the brain damage it did to Kagasu. He may have been a bad guy, but she wasn't sure if anyone deserved that.

He'll be fine, she convinced herself. The way Code worded it, Kagasu would be up and about in no time. Whether for good or not was a different question.

Her thoughts shifted to the sight of that Arctozolt. A bubble of exhilaration formed in her chest. Just imagine how many other super rare and amazing looking Pokémon were out there. She thought she scratched the surface, but clearly, there was more out there.

"Hey, what kind of Pokémon was Arctozolt?"

Haru sipped his Cola. "I'm not really sure. Wasn't cute."

"It looked really strong. Do you think it might be a pseudo-legendary?"

"A what?"

"You know, Pokémon species that are classified so powerful, they could be around the tier of a legendary Pokémon."

Haru shrugged.

After the meal, Haru packed up his gear. He had already booked a train ride outside of town. When Michika asked why didn't he get a rider Pokémon, he simply said it was easier to patrol on foot.

Michika couldn't figure him out. Haru clearly looked uncomfortable around people. But she said none of this out loud. He slipped Michika a card.

"Ranger Union?" Michika read.

"If you ever think about a different profession." He swiped his hand subconsciously through his hair. With a wave, he started to walk away, and Skitty parted ways with Piplup.

She watched Haru's back as he disappeared through the crowded streets. She clutched the card tightly in her hand while Piplup waved wildly with his arms.

Michika smiled and patted her Pokémon's head. "C'mon Piplup, let's get to training. There's a new combo I wanna try with Pachirisu!"

"Piplup!"

* * *

CRESCENTAPPLE'S NOTES:

The ending may seem sudden. I can't see Deoxys intending to fight Kagasu after the scientist asked to understand the universe. I imagine Deoxys has lived for so long and seen so much, that if someone asked Deoxys for knowledge about the vast reaches of space, it would be similar to someone asking you about your front yard. It saw no harm in it. That's years and years of knowledge suddenly thrust in Kagasu's mind left him in a comatose state. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed it. It's been an honor to work with KokoroEcho.

KOKORO'S NOTES:

Thank you for writing it, my dude! My interpretation of Kagasu's fate might be a bit darker. Haha

We might come back to this some day to rework it and add more. And Crescent is free to use the characters he made as he pleases. Make sure to look him up. If anyone else would be interested in writing a story for chronicles, feel free to message me.


	5. John Manson

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 4**

**John Manson**

* * *

"Elesa, your appointment has arrived," a man dressed in an expensive and black as night suit said. He wore a yellow tie that contrasted the rest of his outfit, and his hair was slicked back nicely. "Should I let him in?"

Elesa, a late teen dressed in a poofy yellow coat, simply nodded. She had short blonde hair and wore stylish earmuffs with cables hanging from either side. She calmly sat down on her throne at the gym while she silently waited for her appointment.

The door creaked open, and a boy, aged 16 walked through. He wore a suit, not nearly as expensive as the one worn by Elesa's assistant, and looked confident but uncomfortable.

"John Manson, it's been a long time," Elesa said, unmoving from her chair. "It's my understanding that you've come today to try to take over my gym for me."

The boy nodded. "I appealed to the league, and I showed them my abilities and videos from my conference battles. They think that I can become the gym leader of Nimbasa as long as I can get permission from you. I was told that you're planning to move onto bigger things."

Elesa smiled and then finally stood up. "My modeling career is keeping me busy, and it's difficult to balance being a gym leader alongside it. I am looking for someone to take over, but whoever takes over has to really put in the work for it."

"Becoming a gym leader is all that I've thought about since I was a little boy. I'm willing to put in the work," John answered.

"Your test is simple," Elesa said while she walked forward. She drew a Poké Ball from her oversized coat. "We're going to have a one on one battle. I'm going to use my strongest Pokémon against you. I'll be evaluating your strategy, not your power."

"Sounds good to me," John said. He closed his eyes before drawing out his Poké Ball.

"Zebstrika, go!" Elesa called while throwing her Poké Ball into the air. Her Pokémon appeared and neighed before striking the ground with her hooves, creating small sparks.

"I'm choosing to fight fire with fire, or in the case, electric with electric," John said before tossing his ball forward. A Pokémon with a long body and two long limbs emerged. Its body sparked with electricity as it waved its body around in a snake-like pattern.

"Your Eelektross versus my Zebstrika," she said. "Consider my interest peaked by your decision to not use your Garchomp. Why don't you go ahead and test your Eelektross' strength against my Pokémon. I'll give you one free shot. Use an Electric-type move, and hit me with everything you've got."

John was confused by Elesa's invitation, but he wasn't the type of person to refuse an opportunity if given. "Alright. Eelektross, hit it with Thunder Punch! Make it a strong one!"

Eelektross screeched as all of her energy surged to her right limb. She zipped across the electronic battlefield before swinging as hard as she could. She connected directly with Zebstrika, but all of the electric energy that she had built up was sapped away, leaving her punch to be nothing but a soft strike.

"What the?" John asked as his Pokémon quickly retreated.

Elesa folded her arms. "You see, you're not going to beat my Pokémon at a battle of electricity. Zebstrika has the ability Lightning Rod, which means that all of your Eelektross' Electric-type attacks are useless. What a shame. Your big head got in the way of this challenge. Zebstrika, use Wild Charge!"

Zebstrika stood up on her hindlegs and neighed while sending electrical currents from her body. She was engulfed in the energy before she galloped forward in an unstoppable charge. She collided directly with Eelektross, sending John's Pokémon backwards.

John smiled. "We're more than prepared in the event that one of our attacks won't work! Don't worry about us! Flamethrower!"

"Ee!" his Pokémon screeched. Flames bellowed from her mouth straight towards Elesa's Pokémon.

"I guess we think more alike than I'd like to admit. Flame Charge!"

The energy around Zebstrika's body shifted, turning into flames. She then charged forward once again, running straight into Eelektross' attack. The blast had slightly slowed her down, but she wasn't letting it bother her. Within moments, she crashed into Eelektross, once again tossing her back. Zebstrika then stopped running, and she stood up straight. Her legs had a red hue around them, indicating that something had changed.

_Flame Charge increases the user's speed capabilities during battle. Zebstrika is already fast, so the more that it uses Flame Charge, the more dangerous it'll get,_ John thought. _We're only two attacks in, but she's already done a lot to establish dominance over this battle. I'm going to have to battle differently if I want to win._

"One of my favorite things about battling challengers is seeing the gears turning when they're thinking. For you, this is the most important battle of your life, am I right? Don't overthink things though. It might put you in a worse situation," Elesa said calmly. "Flame Charge once more!"

Zebstrika charged as she did before.

"Aqua Tail! Defend yourself!" John ordered.

Eelektross' whole body became engulfed in aquatic energy. She twisted around and swung the energy around herself. It crashed into Zebstrika, extinguishing the fire and putting a stop to her attack.

"And now Flamethrower!"

Eelektross continued to spin around, but now her focus has changed. The aquatic energy from before quickly dissipated, and then she unleashed a full blast of flames from her mouth. The flames moved faster than Elesa could think, and the Thunderbolt Pokémon was completely covered by the attack, letting out a pained cry. When the flames dissipated, Zebstrika took a few steps backwards, her legs wobbly.

Elesa smiled. "From what I understand, you competed in the Hoenn Grand Festival last year. Your experiences in contests have taught you creative ways to use your attacks, and the way that string together your moves with such fluidity is beautiful. I'm impressed, John."

"Thank you. It's one of the things I learned from contests. Eelektross, we can't let up now! Use Flamethrower!"

"In that case, we'll use Flame Charge!" Elesa directly.

Eelektross unleashed the flames like before, but Zebstrika's speed was unmatched. She easily dodged the blast and then crashed into Eelektross once again.

"Now, Wild Charge!"

The energy shifted like before, but now it became electric. She neighed loudly before stomping her hooves and then charging yet again.

"Fight back with Dragon Pulse!"

Eelektross formed a ball of purple dragonic flames in between her arms. Before Zebstrika could reach, she tossed the ball at the ground, and it exploded, blasting Zebstrika backwards. The two Pokémon, now in a stalemate, glared at one another while the trainers considered their options.

"Well, it looks like you've found a counter for Wild Charge," she said. "I guess that means that I'll have to show you one of my strongest strategies."

John clenched his fist. He didn't realize that she was yet to use all four of her moves.

"Zebstrika, use Ion Deluge!"

"Ion Deluge?"

Zebstrika's body sparked with static, and a yellow hue of light took her over completely. She didn't move forward or try to attack, but instead, it appeared like she was focusing.

_What is that attack? I've never seen anything like it, and from what I can see, it doesn't look like any of her stats have changed. What's happening?_

"Ion Deluge makes it so the next Normal-type attack that I use becomes an Electric-type attack," she explained.

_Wild Charge is already an insanely strong attack, so whatever else she has up her sleeve must be dangerous,_ John thought.

"Zebstrika, finish this with Giga Impact!"

Now charged with electricity, Zebstrika was armed with one of the most dangerous attacks possible. She charged forward, now shaking the entirety of the gym with every gallop.

John gritted his teeth as he watched the Pokémon draw in closer to him and Eelektross. "Alright, Eelektross. I need you to trust me! Use Thunder Punch!"

Eelektross appeared confused by her trainer's order, but she ultimately had faith in him. She put all of her energy into her right fist and then swung once Zebstrika came in close. There was an explosion of energy, sending smoke up into the air.

"It's over," Elesa said. "Good effort, John."

Then the smoke cleared, and both Pokémon were still standing. Zebstrika took a few wooden steps backwards, and Eelektross' arm fell to her side, completely limp.

"It worked," John gasped. "I knew it wouldn't hurt Zebstrika, but I knew it'd draw her in like a magnet. Most of Eelektross is safe!"

"An interesting tactic. You cushioned the blow," she muttered. "Somehow, this battle is continuing."

"Giga Impact makes the user recharge! Now's our chance to finish this! Eelektross, use Flameflower!"

Zebstrika was unable to dodge effectively, allowing Eelektross to engulf her with flames. Elesa's Pokémon let out a loud cry as her body was burned, and when Eelektross had used up the entirety of her attack, the two Pokémon paused, waiting for one to give in and collapse. But neither did.

Elesa grinned. "Now, it's over. Flame Charge!"

Flames suddenly surrounded Zebstrika, and she moved at a pace that was too quick to keep up with. In a matter of seconds, she bounded forward and tackled Eelektross. John's Pokémon flew through the air before crashing down in front of him. He stared at his Pokémon in shock and disbelief.

"It's over," he muttered. "No."

Elesa slowly walked onto the battlefield. She petted Zebstrika lightly on her head. The Pokémon had taken a lot of damage during the battle, but she took joy in having her head caressed.

"Thank you for your time," John said. He withdrew Eelektross and closed his eyes, disappointed in himself for not pulling out the victory. "It was a good learning experience."

Elesa nodded. "I think you'll make a fine gym leader, Mr. Manson."

"Huh?"

"You may have lost today, but it's a gym leader's duty to lose with their head held high. I can sense your sadness and disappointment, but your head is still held high. I tested you on more than power, like I said. I wanted to see your strategy, and the way that you battle with your Pokémon is gorgeous. You've taken a lot of losses up until this point, and you seem like a very humble boy," she said. "The Nimbasa City Gym is yours."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, wow! That's amazing!"

"But, I have one personal condition," she said while she examined him from head to toe. "You gotta buy new clothes. Your fashion sense is terrible."

John laughed and sighed with relief. "I'll work on it."

"I'll be leaving this gym to you. Of course, it's not that simple, and we have weeks of paperwork ahead of us, but I think that after I've taught you everything I know, you'll make the Nimbasa City Gym the place to come and challenge."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Special thanks to The Imprisoned of Hell for John Manson. He ended up being a favorite of my readers in Healing in Hoenn, so it felt only right that he got a chapter. And would you look at that? He's gonna be a gym leader. If I ever get to a Unova story (which I hope to AFTER Kickin' It In Kanto and Overcoming the Orange Islands), then he'll be featured in that story.


	6. Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Pt 1

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 5**

**Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Part 1**

**Written by UKEagleClaw**

**Edited by KokoroEcho**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - "His Pokémon Knows Hydro Pump Too?"**

Max Fulton glared at his opponent. The teenager swept his blonde hair to the side, but it still ended up dangling over his eyes. He returned his fainted Pokémon and picked out another from his belt. "Grr, you won't beat my next Pokémon so easily! I choose you, Corvisquire!"

A grey-blue avian Pokémon with matte black feathers and a malevolent look in her red eyes appeared, squawking eagerly, looking forward to battling—until she caught sight of her opponent: a yellow- and grey-green canine Pokémon. Every few seconds electricity sparked around her opponent's powerful leg muscles. The Electric-type Pokémon had just defeated one of Corvisquire's teammates and was only breathing lightly. Corvisquire stopped her squawking; she thought it best not to ask for trouble. She looked back at her trainer.

"Eyes on Boltund, Corvisquire!" responded her trainer. His face scrunched up and his voice turned angry, bitter as the last few months flashed in his mind. "We need to win against type disadvantages if we're gonna do better on the Gym Challenge next season! Slow 'em down with Scary Face!"

"Electric Terrain," called Boltund's trainer calmly, his hands buried in his black zip-up hoodie. He felt a little guilty, knowing the intense training he'd been putting Boltund and his other Pokémon through. _I doubt his Corvisquire will last more than three moves._

Corvisquire's eyes glowed red and then an illusion of her face shot forward, hoping to reduce Boltund's speed.

Boltund glowed with yellow energy. Electricity crackled and fizzled, running to the tips of his fur, before bursting forward and enclosing the battling Pokémon within a yellow dome. It was Boltund who was supposed to be scared by Corvisquire's attack, but the Scary Face illusion broke apart upon contact with the electrical energy and Corvisquire flinched as the yellow dome extended beyond her form.

"Don't let that get to you!" Max snarled. "Use Drill Peck!"

Corvisquire gave herself a shake, then flapped her wings and dived towards Boltund, tucking in her wings and spinning her body.

"Wild Charge!"

It was over in seconds. If Pokémon were allowed to compete against humans, Boltund would have surely smashed the long-held record of his namesake. Electrical energy radiated from his form and then he shot forward. Boltund moved so quickly that he escaped the trainers' visions. They heard Boltund crash against Corvisquire, and then their eyes relocated Boltund standing over Corvisquire, the Raven Pokémon crumpled on the ground with eyes closed.

_Make that two moves, _thought Finn Denholm as a smile formed on his face. Their training was looking like it was paying off. _Only three weeks to go. _"Good work, Boltund. Let's keep improving like this."

Boltund padded back to his trainer, his tail wagging. He barked his agreement before being returned to his Poké Ball in a flash of red light.

Max didn't say anything. Head down, he stared at Corvisquire, disappointed in his Pokémon and himself. He had travelled around neighbouring regions before returning to Galar and had hoped to do well in the Gym Challenge, but like so many others, he'd underestimated the difficultly of Galar's gyms and hadn't managed to earn all eight badges. He had been unable to defeat Gordie, the Rock-type gym leader. He thought he had gotten closer to victory with each attempt, but every time Gordie found a way to win with his Gigantamax Coalossal. Max had tired of putting on the same stupid uniform and listening to Gordie's fanboys and fangirls. They had cheered and screamed his name, "Gordie! Gordie! Gordie!" and the humiliation had built each and every time Max lost. So, Max Fulton had said good riddance to Circhester and vowed never to own any Rock-type Pokémon for as long as he was a trainer—a Coalossal most of all.

Finn started walking towards his opponent who still hadn't returned their fainted Pokémon. He knew he had been training Boltund and his other Pokémon hard recently and he still felt bad for battling other trainers when their Pokémon were noticeably weaker than his team. For this reason, he was avoiding facing other trainers in full battles. This battle had been a three-on-three, but none of his Pokémon had fainted. He'd substituted his first Pokémon in favour of Boltund after defeating his opponent's first Pokémon, but that was it. A good friend came to mind; he knew how losses could affect trainers. He thought he should offer some consoling words.

Max looked up. His opponent wore two wristbands, but the one that caught his eye was white and outlined in red and blue with a metallic black screen. Max's fingers curled into fists. _Why does _he _get a Dynamax Band? What makes him so special! If I had one, I could have beaten that stupid giant Coalossal. _"I'll show you!" he shouted. "I'll show you! This battle isn't done!"

That stopped Finn in his tracks. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked, surprised.

"You think I'm beneath you, don't you?"

"No."

"You do! You think you're too good to face me."

"No. No, I don't. Ugh . . . Okay, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." Memories of participating in raids flashed in his mind. "And it's only going to be a one-on-one battle. You'll be in big trouble if you run out of Pokémon in the Wild Area."

Max just glared at him as though his advice was an insult before picking out his next Pokémon and enlarging its Poké Ball. "You won't let me down," he said quietly before throwing the Poké Ball.

It exploded open in mid-air. Energy streamed out and transformed into a Pokémon with a grey-furred face with long ears. The Pokémon had adapted to Galar's colder climate, and perhaps Galar's most popular sport, with black fur that covered the expanse of her body and red fur that could be stretched up to cover her mouth.

Finn recognised the Pokémon immediately from his travels around Galar. He wondered which one of his Pokémon he should use next. His hand wavered over his Poké Balls. There was an obvious choice, but at the same time, he didn't want to crush Max's confidence. The trainer was already irritated with him, and if he used this Pokémon, he would have the type advantage and chances were his Pokémon would be a much higher level than Max's.

"C'mon!" Max complained. "What are you waiting for?"

And Finn breathed out slowly. _I can't take it easy on him, _he thought. _No one will be taking it easy on me in a few weeks, and I can't be complacent now._

Finn selected his Poké Ball. Like Max's, it was standard issue, red and white with a bit of black. It opened in his hand and energy surged out to form a scaly light blue and yellow Pokémon with clusters of red spikes running down his spine. The Pokémon was a similar height to Max's and, truth be told, wouldn't have looked out of place in the stone age, or an old cartoon.

"Croconaw," Max muttered. "But we'll still win. Right, Raboot?"

Raboot nodded, starting to bounce up and down.

Croconaw stayed still, eyes on Raboot and awaiting his trainer's command.

"Waste 'em with Double Kick!"

Raboot leaped high into the air. When he started falling, he twisted his body until he was spinning.

Finn waited as long as possible to say, "Catch it with Ice Fang!"

Croconaw had waited patiently, but now the back of his mouth became cold and ice energy oozed forward to coat all forty-eight fangs. Raboot was only seconds from planting two feet into his face, but the Water-type sidestepped his Galarian counterpart with surprising speed and clamped down on Raboot's passing leg with ice-coated fangs.

The timing was perfect. Raboot was stopped in her tracks and despite the heat that flowed through her body, it was not enough to stop the pain. Raboot's body convulsed from the cold and before the Fire-type could do much more, Croconaw whipped round and tossed her back in the direction of her trainer.

_Good_, Finn thought. _That confirms we can use Croconaw's Ice Fang to defend when necessary._

Raboot landed with a thud. She tried to stand back up, but a patch of ice remained on her shin. It was slowly melting from her body's heat, but not quickly enough. Her trained willed her on, but it wasn't enough.

"Flamethrower!" Max shouted, unwilling to lose again. To someone with a Dynamax band especially. "Give it everything you've got!"

Raboot put her weight onto her other foot and managed to stand again. She sucked in oxygen, then fire energy burnt from deep inside her. The inferno shot out of her mouth and spiralled towards Croconaw.

Finn waited, wanting to test Croconaw's reaction speed again, then said, "Rinse them with Hydro Pump!"

"Hydro Pump?" Finn heard Max mutter. "His Pokémon knows Hydro Pump too?"

Finn expected Croconaw to summon Hydro Pump in a heartbeat, water gushing out of his mouth. They'd been training with a wide lens to improve Croconaw's accuracy with Hydro Pump, but Finn never got to see it. Croconaw stopped suddenly, water spluttering from his mouth and dripping onto the ground.

"Croconaw!" Finn shouted. Even though it would be not very effective, he didn't want Croconaw taking a Flamethrower head-on if he could help it.

But that never came either.

Raboot had stopped her attack too and the flames, no longer being driven forward by Raboot, had disappeared into the air before reaching Croconaw.

Max looked as surprised as Finn did. "Why did you stop attacking?" he said, the anger returning.

But his Raboot ignored him, staring into the distance. The heat from the Flamethrower had melted off the patch of ice that had clung to her shin, so she shifted her weight restlessly onto her other foot, but then lifted it suddenly. Before her trainer could stop her, Raboot raced up to Max and pressed her Poké Ball. She was enclosed with a red light.

"You're useless," Max spat. "We could have won that battle."

Finn was too busy concentrating on his Croconaw to pay attention to Max and Raboot. He approached the Water-type slowly, then said, "You okay, Croconaw?"

"Croconaw . . ."

Finn could tell from his voice that something was wrong. Very wrong. His Pokémon had never stopped like that in battle before. In the distance, he saw Onix and Rhydon and Sandaconda and more Ground-type Pokémon than he thought possible, surface from the ground in a hurry. Any Pokémon that could fly were flapping their wings and disappearing into the sky.

Finn could feel his heart thumping in his chest.

"Croconaw," Croconaw said again. This time he pointed to the ground.

And then it happened.

Before Finn knew it, his feet disappeared from under him and he was sent crashing to the ground. The ground groaned. Croconaw fell sideways too, and Finn heard Max topple over and shout out too.

Finn didn't know what was happening, but he realised now that the Pokémon had sensed the danger before they had. He didn't know whether he should try to stand yet, but there was one thing he could do. Whatever was going to happen to him, he could protect Croconaw. He quickly grabbed his Pokémon's Poké Ball and returned him. Croconaw shook his head in protest as the red light captured him in the ball. _Sorry, Croconaw, but it's for your own safety._

Finn stayed on the ground. He was almost afraid to try to stand. He closed his eyes and listened, his heart continuing to thump away. He thought he could still hear the ground groaning, heaving as if it was moving underneath him, but it seemed quieter than before.

"Is it over?" Max shouted, sounding afraid. "Is it over?"

Finn listened. He heard one last groan, then nothing.

"I think so," he called back, sharing Max's unease.

Finn cautiously staggered back up. Max did the same and approached him, slowly. Finn took a look around them. The Ground-type Pokémon had clustered together as though discussing whether to return to the ground that seemed to have just spat them out and the Flying-types were nowhere to be seen. He didn't expect them to come back down from the sky for a while, and he didn't blame them.

After a moment Finn said, "I think it must have been some kind of earthquake. That would explain why the Ground-type Pokémon reacted as they did"—he coughed, the breath had been knocked out of him—"and Raboot, like Scorbunny and Cinderace, are extra sensitive with their feet, that's probably why Raboot wanted to return to her Poké Ball so badly."

"Yeah," Max muttered, breathless.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to head to the nearest Pokémon Centre to find out what's going on."

Max didn't respond.

"You okay?"

"Of course, I'm okay!" he snapped back, crossing his arms. "It's weird, though . . . An earthquake in Galar. It doesn't happen much at all."

"They're more common in Johto," Finn said, thinking of Croconaw. "Not that I've ever visited," he added, sounding more defensive than he'd intended.

The battle between Croconaw and Raboot forgotten, the two trainers left the Wild Area, their legs still feeling shaky, and on their way to the nearest Pokémon Centre.

* * *

Max didn't say much more to Finn, trailing behind mostly. Finn had felt like saying something, but he didn't want to sound arrogant by declaring his Pokémon were much stronger and that it was understandable that Max got beat convincingly. By the time they spotted the P that identified the Pokémon Centre, it was too late and the two entered to find the lobby packed with trainers.

_They must have had the same idea, _Finn thought, forced to weave through the mass of trainers. He felt a little claustrophobic as he tried to reach the counter. He didn't know whether Max was following him or not. When Finn did reach the counter, he was about to say something to Nurse Joy when he noticed that one, she wasn't there; and two, there was a long queue that curved around the counter and disappeared into the canteen area. He made his way to the back of the line without complaint, knowing that other people's Pokémon might have been hurt as a result of the earthquake.

He looked around himself and realised that Max had vanished. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He felt bad for defeating him as he did, but Max hadn't exactly reacted in the fairest of ways either. _Maybe if he has some time to cool down, he'll be more reasonable. Maybe._

The canteen was alive with the sound of cutlery and eating. There was a gap in the queue ahead to ensure people could still access the serving counters. Finn hadn't eaten since breakfast, but his first priority was to heal his Pokémon. He waited patiently in the queue.

And patiently . . .

And patiently . . .

And patiently . . .

Until the word was wearing on his conscience. He was just beyond the boundary of the canteen now. The lobby had quietened and he guessed most of the trainers had either decided to leave or go to the canteen or their rooms; there wasn't much Nurse Joy could tell them when she was so preoccupied with responding and answering the requests from trainers in the queue.

Finn's thoughts returned to the earthquake. He'd been in the Wild Area plenty of times before but had never experienced the sensation outside of a Pokémon battle, although Earthquake, the move, was more controlled and because you knew it was coming you were aware of what was happening. He hoped it was only a one-off.

"Excuse me?"

Finn turned towards the voice. It took him a moment to register the words; he thought the question was directed at someone else. Suddenly he was face to face with a girl. A girl a similar age to him with silver-blonde hair and a few freckles under her blue-grey eyes.

Finn pointed to himself. "You mean me?"

"You are Finn Denholm, aren't you? Gym Challenger and Champion Cup finalist?"

Finn nodded, surprised to be recognised, and his face reddened as the compliments came pouring in:

"I saw your battle against Raihan on PokéStream. It was great! You were in the Manalo Conference too and in the Ever Grande Conference. I'm sorry you lost to that Luna girl. She seemed strong."

Finn smiled at the memory. He may have lost, but he had prepared as best he could and thrown everything he'd had at Luna, knowing how strong she was beforehand. He felt he had improved whilst travelling in Galar and participating in the Gym Challenge. He was confident that if he were to face his friend again, he could beat her.

The girl frowned, confused, as if to say, _You seem quite happy for someone who lost_.

"Oh, it's nothing. And I'm not that good," he said, shuffling up the queue with his new friend beside him. "I'm quietly confident about the Champion Cup, but anything can happen."

"You're strong, though. Stronger than me anyway. My Pokémon aren't very strong. I couldn't even get past Bea."

Finn felt himself blushing again. He hoped it wasn't too obvious, but with his pale skin, it probably was.

"I'm sorry," the girl said suddenly. "I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Freya."

"Well, I'm Finn."

"I already knew that." Freya smiled.

Finn's mouth curved into a smile too. "I think any trainer can get stronger. I was lucky, I guess, I travelled with two really strong trainers in Alola, but as long as you prepare in the right way, in the best way possible, well, anything's possible."

He wouldn't admit it to Freya, but he felt proud, knowing someone had recognised his achievements and considered him a strong trainer. _Maybe even like Logan and Luna, _he thought hopefully. He reached the front of the queue and handed his Poké Balls to Nurse Joy.

"I hope so. I've sort of just been wandering around Galar ever since . . ." Freya's voice trailed off.

The lights flickered, and there was another groan. Finn held his arms out, bracing himself, his heartbeat thumping again. And then the lights went out. He heard a plate shatter and cutlery clang against the floor from the canteen. Trainers muttered and talked with each other in panicked tones. They waited nervously.

But nothing happened. The earth didn't groan or shake again.

Finn looked to Nurse Joy. "Are you sure it's safe to heal them with the power off?"

Nurse Joy managed a strained smile. "I'm sure it'll be all okay. The backup generator will come on in a minute."

As if on command, the lights blazed back on and a relieved murmur spread out throughout the Pokémon Centre.

Finn turned to Freya as Nurse Joy took care of his Pokémon. "It must have just been an aftershock."

"What do you think's causing it?"

"No idea," Finn murmured. "Whatever it is can't be good, though." He remembered how the wild Pokémon had acted earlier and immediately made up his mind. "I'm going to go have a look outside. See if there are any wild Pokémon out there. I saw them acting strangely before, before the first quake hit."

Finn walked quickly across the lobby and the automatic doors _swish_ed open. Freya was not far behind. Finn was unnerved by what he saw: More Ground-type Pokémon—Onix, Rhydon, Mudbray, and more—were aboveground. In one long messy line, they were heading towards and past the Pokémon Centre. Finn had never seen anything like it before. Other wild Pokémon—Vulpix and Growlithe; Snorunt and Snover; Wooper and Lotad—scurried along nearby, all heading away from the Wild Area.

_Why? _Finn wondered. _What's happened? The earthquake wasn't _that _strong. It shouldn't have caused them all to act like this._

"Look at the sky!" Freya exclaimed, looking up.

And then Finn saw it too. The sky was much darker than it should have been for this time in the evening in Galarian summer. Now that he'd noticed that, he was sure visibility had worsened. He couldn't see as far as he could earlier. He sniffed. There was a weird smell in the air as well and it didn't smell particularly great.

"I'm going to call Professor Magnolia," he said. "I don't know what, but something's wrong."

"You know Professor Magnolia too! That's so cool!" Freya marvelled as Finn got out his Rotom Phone and dialled her number. He was too alarmed by the behaviour of the wild Pokémon to blush this time.

"Professor Magnolia! I need to—"

"Hello, dear. Professor Magnolia here. Unfortunately, I'm unavailable at present, so please leave me a message and I will endeavour to get back to you as soon as I can."

Finn tried to call her again but was met with the same response. "I've never had a problem reaching her before," he told Freya. "And this is an emergency . . . I'm going to have to go to Wedgehurst, find her there. She'll know what's going on, I'm sure."

"Can I come too?" Freya said, her voice bright with enthusiasm.

Finn had mostly travelled on his own through Hoenn and had done the same in Galar. He had grown used to his own company and didn't mind it, yet at the same time, he did enjoy travelling with other trainers too. He nodded. "Yeah. The company would be—"

The automatic doors _swish_ed open behind them. "Running away, are you?"

Finn turned. "What?"

"We should be heading towards the danger, not running away from it," Max continued.

"If that danger's caused all these Pokémon to turn the other way, I'm not sure anyone should be hurtling in there without first learning what it is we're dealing with."

"Finn's right," warned Freya. "It's too dangerous."

Max huffed. He walked past them and looked beyond the streaks of wild Pokémon curving down Meetup Spot.

"You shouldn't go," Finn told him. "Think of Raboot. Think of your other Pokémon. You don't know the danger you're facing."

Max shook his head. "We need to get stronger," he said simply before he started walking back towards the Wild Area.

Finn stared after him, wondering if there was anything he could say to persuade Max. Guilt formed in the pit of his stomach. Maybe if they hadn't battled, Max wouldn't have gotten so worked up, maybe he wouldn't go and face this danger.

"Be careful!" Finn called.

Max raised a hand in farewell. And then he disappeared beneath the smog.

Finn turned to Freya. "After Nurse Joy heals my Pokémon, we're catching the first train to Wedgehurst."

* * *

A line on a screen was jumping up and down, stabilising, then jumping up and down again. "This energy . . . what a wonderful gift it is," Faraday said, observing the screen. Thick-rimmed goggles covered his eyes and a facemask protected his mouth. A white lab coat hid his shoulders and arms and his hands were gloved. He looked like he belonged in a doomsday film.

The man stared at the data before glancing up at the cause. It towered above him, more than ten times his height; he could just about make out three red clouds floating over its head. He sniffed and wished he hadn't. In his excitement, the one thing he had forgotten to prepare was protection for his nose. Discarded toys and all sorts of junk were attached to the Pokémon's slimy, lumpy grey-and-green body. Faraday would have much preferred any other Pokémon, but this one was the one who had Gigantamaxed, and he had had no choice but to follow and assess the Poison-type.

Currently, something was drawing the Pokémon south. But Faraday wasn't surprised. He had expected this to happen. The majority of the wild Pokémon had fled as soon as they had sensed, or rather smelled, the Poison-type's presence. A few had decided that they were strong enough—or stubborn enough, more likely—to stop a Gigantamax Pokémon with their own strength. In fact, the Gigantamax Pokémon had just crushed a Rhydon who had thought itself strong. Only a coordinated effort would stop the Pokémon now, but Faraday knew it would take time for the local authorities to respond. Until then he could analyse the Dynamix energies involved all he liked.

He was just about to stare back down at his screen when he noticed something approaching through the smog that had surrounded the Poison-type as soon as the Pokémon had emerged from his den in the Wild Area. Faraday stared at the figure until it was close enough to be made out.

Faraday laughed at the sight. "I was wondering when the first arrogant trainer might come forward, thinking they're strong enough to challenge a being of a Gigantamax Pokémon's power."

The trainer with blonde hair dangling in front of his eyes stared up at the Gigantamax Pokémon. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he released three of his Pokémon, about to shout out commands.

The massive Pokémon glared at the trainer and his team. Discoloured water pooled around him, then shot up into the air. Before the trainer could respond, the water crashed down on top of him and his Pokémon. So fast that they had no time to respond. The power of the attack, the water crashing down on them, propelled Pokémon and trainer to the ground. Their bodies convulsed with pain.

Shock and fear entered Max Fulton's widening eyes. He tried to stand but found his legs didn't want to move. He reached out for his Pokémon, but they had already fainted. He knew he had let them down as his strength faded and his vision turned black.

Faraday took out his notepad and started writing. "Hmm, interesting . . . Observation Number Eight, Gigantamax Pokémon will attack Pokémon and humans indiscriminately. How . . . marvellous."

* * *

**EAGLECLAW'S NOTES:**

This chapter kicks off a three-chapter arc that I have been working on with Kokoro. Max will not be appearing in any more chapters, but I enjoyed working on his character and creating his backstory which naturally conflicted with Finn's character. It was also particularly fun to introduce Freya in this chapter. As you can tell by my username, Galar is my home region so I hope I'm representing it well. As always, thanks for reading!

**KOKORO'S NOTES:**

So, the invitation is out there for other writers who would like to work on a Pokémon Chronicles with me! EagleClaw and I have been messaging back and forth for almost a year now, and he offered to write up an entry for me. Hopefully I can convince him to work on a few more, as this entry is absolutely excellent. Make sure to give his _Pokémon: Infinite Legacies_ a read!


	7. Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Pt 2

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 5**

**Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Part 2**

**Written by UKEagleClaw**

**Edited by KokoroEcho**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - "You Tell the Earthquake That!"**

"Scorbunny . . ." panted a 10-year-old boy with short brown hair, "stop! Stay . . . still!"

Scorbunny stopped and turned. For a moment it looked like the Rabbit Pokémon was listening. But there was a sparkle in his orange eyes. He didn't stay still for long. He raced towards the boy and when the human swooped one way to pick him up, he weaved the other way. Scorbunny was too quick; the human boy had no chance and tumbled to the ground. Out of reach Scorbunny snickered, tufts of grass charred where his paws had been.

"Just let 'im run around, Oscar," a girl with dark brown hair called from a white picnic table. She covered her eyes with her hands, letting them hang there for a few seconds until, "Peekaboo!"

The Pokémon she was playing with, surprised at her sudden reappearance, giggled. He tapped his stick playfully against the bench. He liked the sound it made and kept going. Nearby the charred grass regained its green colour.

On the other side of the bench another Pokémon watched more nervously. He had jolted back in surprise. Watery droplets dripped from his light blue skin as he wondered, how had the human reappeared so quickly?

"He won't go far," the girl added. "You know he gets tired after too long and falls asleep."

Oscar looked relatively fit for a boy his age, but he had stayed on the ground and had gotten out his inhaler. When he pushed down on the canister, he felt his breath returning to him. "But we're meant to keep an eye on them, Jess! _At all times_, that's what Professor Magnolia said, right? Right, J—"

"Gah!" exclaimed a boy with a hi-top fade that ended in short black curly hair. He had recently had his hair cut and a cool-looking pattern, including a Poké Ball, was visible on both sides of his head. "Sobble!" he protested. "You . . . You . . . You got _water_ all over my jacket!"

"Sobble . . ." murmured Sobble, his eyes wide.

Jess giggled. She remembered when they had travelled to the cinema to see The Retaliators. There wasn't a cinema in Wedgehurst, so they had gotten permission from their parents—it would make good practice for when they were Pokémon trainers, they had convinced them—before making the train journey to Motostoke, just the two of them. She hadn't been that bothered about seeing the film, but everyone had been talking about it at school and Jaden was desperate to see it. And he had invited her, _her_ and not Oscar (who had gone to see it with his family, but that detail didn't matter). She couldn't say no, and with a flurry in her chest, she had quickly accepted. In the end she had actually enjoyed the film, particularly Blaziken Mask, and although Jaden had spilt his drink halfway through, she remembered most of all when he had held her hand during the post-credits' scene and after the film most of all. When they had reached the train station and his hand had slipped from hers, disappointment had poured over her and she had had to remind herself to stop being so silly.

"At least it wasn't Alola Cola like last time!" she said, shaking herself from her memory.

Jaden was too busy smoothing down his jacket to notice. "What did you say?"

Jess gave him a furious look.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Okay . . ." Jaden looked unconvinced. "Are you sure? You've been acting strange lately."

Jess felt herself falling into his dark brown eyes. _Why do I like him so much? _she thought. _Why?_ They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but only recently her feelings about him had changed, when Professor Magnolia had told the three of them they were going to be given starter Pokémon. Jess had been overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of travelling Galar with Jaden until she had thought, _What if he would rather travel without me? _She sighed softly. She hadn't found the courage to ask him yet. _If he says no . . ._

"Jess, you can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?"

_Friend, _she had grown to despise that word. She tried to think of what to say, but she couldn't process how she felt.

Hurt appeared on Jaden's face. "I thought we were."

Jess didn't know what to say.

"I . . . I feel like I don't see you anymore. We used to hang out and do homework and stuff all the time after school, but now I swear I hardly see you outside of class. I . . . wanted to ask you something—"

Jess' heartbeat quickened.

"—but now I don't know. I'm not so sure it's such a good idea."

And suddenly Jess realised. She had to tell him. She had to try to explain how she felt about him. She opened her mouth and the words started to form. She was about to admit her feelings to him. "Jaden, I—"

The strangest (and most inconveniently-timed) sound interrupted her.

She heard Scorbunny, Grookey, and Sobble all cry out, their Poké Balls rolling off the picnic table and tumbling to the floor.

She heard Oscar exclaim, "Where's that coming from?"

And she heard wild Pokémon squawking and taking to the sky while Water-type Pokémon surfaced in the nearby lake.

Fear in every voice.

Jess couldn't understand what was happening. Something made the picnic table lurch and she lost her balance. She fell, as did Jaden and Grookey and Sobble, and she banged her head against the ground.

The sky was all she could see, her world upside down. The sky, nice and blue, looked so peaceful, free of any troubles, until flocks of Flying-type Pokémon entered her vision, re-alerting her to whatever was going on, blue-feathered Rookidee and Corvisquire escaping skyward. The ground groaned again, but she sat up and looked for Jaden and Oscar.

"Everyone okay?" she shouted, trembling.

"I think so," Oscar answered.

There was no response from Jaden. Blood seeped from a cut to his forehead and he looked dazed.

"Jaden?" Jess called.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, Jess."

The ground emitted one last ominous groan before falling silent. They waited a moment longer, but nothing else happened. They gathered themselves up. Jaden pulled himself to his feet, but seemed unsteady as though his legs might crumble at any moment.

"What was that?" Oscar breathed, his hand shaking as he clutched his inhaler.

"I don't know how, but the ground . . . It seemed like an earthquake to me."

"An earthquake? But earthquakes don't happen in Galar."

"You tell the earthquake that!" Jess snapped. "Sorry. That was . . . mad."

"Yeah . . ." murmured Oscar. And then he realised. "Wait—where are the Pokémon?!"

Jess and Oscar did a 360-degree turn and inspected their surroundings. Jess only spotted Grookey stumbling away. She raced over as fast as she could manage and scooped him up. But something was missing.

"It's over there." Oscar pointed towards the picnic table.

She picked it up and handed it back to Grookey. The Chimp Pokémon looked relieved to be reunited with his stick, reaching out and hugging it tight against his chest, but Jess wasn't sure what Grookey had been doing. _He looked like he was wandering off without his stick, but before I've never seen him go anywhere without it._

Jess picked up Grookey's Poké Ball and thought it best to return him, so he wouldn't attempt to run off again if there was another earthquake. _It was great timing too, _she thought, but now she knew there were much more important things to focus on. "Where are Sobble and Scorbunny?" she said.

Oscar was silent.

"I thought you were keeping an eye on Scorbunny!"

Oscar had been, but then Jess and Jaden's conversation had drawn him in and he couldn't help but listen in on his friends. They weren't exactly being quiet! And he had looked away from Scorbunny in the process. That said, he thought he would be better off saying, "I thought you were watching Sobble!"

Jaden had been unusually quiet, head bowed as he sat back down on the bench, but now he found his voice, "Sobble? Sobble!" Jaden whipped his head around, searching for the Water-type. "Sobble! Where are you?" He spotted a patch of water on the ground and moved shakily towards it. He followed the trail and gulped. It headed for the lake. "If he's turned invisible," his voice shook, "we might never find him again . . ."

"The earthquake must have spooked them," Oscar said.

"Yeah." Jess handed Scorbunny's Poké Ball to Oscar. Jaden looked expectantly at her, but she kept the other two for herself.

"Wha . . . ?" he managed.

"You're hurt," she told him firmly. "You need to go inside and rest, and if Sobble comes back, someone needs to be here."

Jaden gave her a rebellious look before nodding slowly, blood still dribbling from his cut. "I think you might be right," he admitted.

"Remember that time you were playing with Sobble by the water, he didn't like to be in for long. It was too cold for him. So, he won't want to stay in the water forever," Jess assured Jaden, who nodded in agreement. "I'll head towards town, upstream looking for Sobble; Oscar, you look for Scorbunny."

Oscar nodded too. "Right."

* * *

The sky over Wedgehurst was beginning to darken as Finn led the way out of the town's station. He walked briskly. He might even have jogged if his black loafers weren't so uncomfortable to run in. He had tried again to contact Professor Magnolia on the train journey, but every time it was only her voicemail that answered. And so his worries remained and he was eager to find the Professor as soon as possible.

Freya lagged a little behind out of the station. She turned and stared up at the station's bell tower, which, along with the station's clay-red roof, suffered with patches of green moss. She nodded approvingly, impressed by the architecture, before catching up with Finn.

"I've never been to Wedgehurst before," she commented, now matching his pace, her white trainers more up to the task. "Oh! I didn't realise there was a boutique here!" She stared longingly at the shop window.

Finn didn't stop. "You can stop if you want, but I need to find the Professor."

Freya stopped, then thought better of it and continued after Finn. "Have you had any more ideas about what caused the earthquakes?"

"There is something . . ." Finn admitted. He had remembered a conversation he'd shared with Professor Magnolia after earning the Dragon Badge. He pictured what could happen to all those fleeing wild Pokémon if he was correct and a shiver raced up his spine. _I really hope I'm wrong._

"What if Professor Magnolia can't help, though? She can't exactly stop earthquakes, can she?"

Finn shook his head. "Sure, she'll help. No other Pokémon Professor has more experience than her. We just need to find her and she'll figure out what happened."

Freya wasn't so sure, but she didn't say anymore.

Finn and Freya passed through the centre of town. A girl approached them about missing Pokémon, but Finn shook his head, apologised, and told her they were in a rush. And soon enough, they were leaving Wedgehurst and were entering Route 2, nearing Professor Magnolia's research laboratory, a short distance away from town.

Suddenly they heard the sound of battling Pokémon. Finn wanted to find Professor Magnolia as quickly as possible, but one of the Pokémon cried out and he realised one of them might be in danger of getting seriously hurt.

A maroon-furred Pokémon with black shadows masking their eyes was circling a small light blue-skinned Pokémon.

"A Nickit and Sobble," Finn commented, "but that's weird. Sobble are incredibly rare in the wild."

The Nickit hadn't noticed Finn or Freya approach, too focused on the Sobble, snickering. Water was dripping from Sobble's body and he looked so afraid Finn knew tears were on their way. And then Nickit's claws started to glow.

Finn had already reached for a Poké Ball and now threw it forward. A red- and white-furred Pokémon who would normally be seen in festive advertisements appeared from the bright light. "Quick!" Finn said. "Attack Nickit!"

"Delibird?" Freya questioned, surprised. She hadn't seen Finn use this Pokémon before. "You use a Delibird and you're in the Champion Cup?"

As if in answer, Delibird swooped forwards with unexpected speed and spun so fast it made Freya feel dizzy. His yellow beak glowed white and elongated. Nickit looked up in surprise as Delibird raked her side with Drill Peck. Pain convulsed Nickit's body and the Fox Pokémon whined before stumbling off into the bushes. A little less water dripped from Sobble's body now.

"That's why," Finn flashed back.

"I stand corrected, but why did you want to attack Nickit so quickly?"

"Once I was in a raid battle in the Wild Area, but all our Pokémon fainted and we had to quickly escape. One of the trainers used their Sobble's tears to distract the Dynamax Pokémon. She told us afterwards that a Sobble's tears are as potent as 100 onions. I couldn't stop crying for hours, not a nice feeling." He smiled at Sobble and waved. "It's okay, Sobble. We don't mean you any harm."

"Sobble . . ." doubted Sobble.

"Sobble!" cried a voice. "There you are!"

"Sobble!"

The girl from Wedgehurst raced into view, picked Sobble up, and gave the Water-type a hug. "You're still a bit wet," she said, giggling. She got a towel out of her bag and wiped Sobble down. "There! Perfect."

"Sobble!" Sobble said, looking relieved and a lot happier.

"Are you Sobble's trainer?" Finn asked.

"Oh. Well, kind of. Well, not really. We've been looking after Sobble and Scorbunny and Grookey for Professor Magnolia. I think Sobble and Scorbunny got scared when the earthquake hit."

"The earthquake was here too?" blurted Freya. "I didn't think it would spread that far out."

"So, you know Professor Magnolia?" Finn said. "I need to see her. About the tremors."

Jess scratched her other arm. "That could be difficult. Unless you fancy flying to Alola."

"To Alola?"

"Yeah, she's on holiday there."

Finn smiled slightly. "She always went on about wanting a holiday somewhere hot. She's probably sunning herself in Alola right now. Great timing, Professor."

"We're scheduled to call her later today, but you know what she's like with a mobile."

"Yeah. Is Sonia around?"

"No, she's away on research."

"No surprises there. Well, if it's okay with you, we'll come back with you to the lab. I'm going to see if there's any books or something that might explain the earthquake. Where we were wild Pokémon were acting strangely too."

Jess thought about it. "We weren't paying much attention at the time because we were focused on the starters, but I did see some Flying-types head into the air. I've not seen as many wild Pokémon as I usually do around here too. It's like they're hiding from something."

"Or fleeing from something," Finn added ominously.

* * *

Finn, Freya, and Jess made their way towards Professor Magnolia's research laboratory. They all kept one eye on the sky. The sun was beginning to lose its glow and visibility was worsening. There was a nasty smell in the air which was turning hazier by the minute. They spotted wild Pokémon fleeing south, Flying-types who hadn't left already escaping into the sky and Water-types taking to rivers and streams. They were too nervous to speak their thoughts aloud.

It was much darker than it should be for the afternoon when they arrived. The smog had intensified to such a degree Jess couldn't see the waterfront or the picnic table anymore. She took a few steps forward and shouted, "Jaden! Oscar!"

Silence greeted her.

Then she rushed up to the lab.

"Wait up!" Finn called. He could barely see three steps in front of himself. _What in Galar has the power to cause all this?_

Freya wasn't far behind.

"Jaden!" Jess shouted again, peeking through the windows.

But she couldn't see anyone inside and there was no response. She dashed inside.

"Jaden!"

Finn elected to wait in the hallway when he heard a, "What is it?" and saw a boy emerge from a doorway with damp hands. The cut on his forehead had stopped bleeding and he seemed more alert than before.

"Jaden!" Jess said again, this time her voice warm with relief. "Where have you been?"

Jaden pointed behind him. "In the bathroom."

Jess wrapped her hands around him before he could say anymore. Jaden returned the embrace.

Finn watched from a short distance away. The two trainers he had travelled with in Alola flashed in his mind.

"Have you found Sobble?" Jaden asked as he and Jess broke apart. "It's getting strange out there."

"Yeah, we did. Thanks to these guys actually."

Jaden noticed Finn and Freya for the first time. He gave them a small nod. Finn thought he looked a little embarrassed.

"Here's his Poké Ball"—she got out the Poké Ball and hovered it teasingly over Jaden' outstretched palm—"don't do anything stupid. You could be concussed, you know."

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Jaden snatched up Sobble's Poké Ball and tucked it safely into his tracksuit bottoms pocket before Jess could take it back.

"Have you seen Oscar since we separated?" Jess went on.

"No. I was thinking of going out and looking for him myself, but then you guys turned up."

Finn took a step forward. "Perhaps you guys should stay here. I'll . . ."

A chandelier shook overhead.

Their gazes all darted up to it.

And then it stopped, was still again, undisturbed.

"Another tremor?" suggested Freya.

Suddenly Jaden was waving his hand in front of his face. "What's that smell? Don't tell me somebody farted?"

"Jaden!" Jess scolded. "Don't be so . . . Wait, I can smell something too. It's . . . like, leftover food."

The sky, the smell, the smog—something was polluting the surrounding area, Finn realised, but what? He wasn't sure what exactly was happening. He wished Professor Magnolia was here to guide them, but it was up to them now, he knew. He was just about to suggest they all go out together and look for Jess and Jaden's friend when a scream split the air.

Jess and Jaden exchanged looks. "Oscar!" they both said at once.

Jess and Jaden hurtled past Finn and out of the door before Finn could say anything. Not having a choice, Finn and Freya raced after them.

* * *

The earth shook. Oscar had smelled its stench before anything else. It towered over him, a mass of pollution and waste and litter. He'd never seen anything like it before. He'd scored the highest in the class in the end-of-year tests and he thought he had memorised all of Galar's Pokémon, but this . . . well, he wasn't even sure if this was a Pokémon or not. It looked just like something spat out by nature considering the contents of its slimy body.

At first curiosity had willed him on. Perhaps he was about to discover a new Pokémon? That would have really impressed Professor Magnolia. But then fear had tightened over his pounding heart and he had hid behind the first tree he saw, clutching his inhaler tightly.

The sight of it . . . Oscar had never felt so frightened in his life. Suddenly he had second thoughts about going on a journey. His parents had urged him to try it out, his grades were high enough, but he hadn't been particularly keen. _I'm only really doing it 'cause Jaden and Jess are. _Without them, he knew school would be a lonely place. _Although I haven't asked them to travel with me yet. They like each other. They'll probably say no. Why would they want to travel with me anyway?_

Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and his stomach churned. Tension overwhelmed his senses; he started shaking. He knew he couldn't last much longer. His breath quickened and he started to panic. He wasn't going to last much longer, he knew it.

Faraday was watching. He'd spotted the boy through his goggles which were unaffected by the smog in the air and he was interested to see how his beast would react, especially considering how the Gigantamax Pokémon had treated the boy trainer from earlier.

And then a smile dawned on his face: the Gigantamax Pokémon reached down and grabbed the tree Oscar was hiding behind. Oscar scrambled away, screaming in terror, as the Pokémon flung the tree away like it was nothing. The Pokémon had its eyes on the boy, hatred oozing from those dark red depths. Oscar felt the ground vibrate as the Pokémon stomped closer.

Oscar knew he was about to die. He wouldn't get to go on his journey. He wouldn't see Jaden or Jess again. He was about to be picked up and thrown away like the trash that composed the Pokémon's gargantuan body. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

But it didn't arrive.

"Scor-Scorbunny!"

Because Scorbunny had found Oscar, who opened his eyes to see the Fire-type approaching the Pokémon who must have been at least twenty times his size! Oscar had felt cold, but intense heat radiated from the pads on Scorbunny's head and under his feet. Oscar had found his breath again too; he started to think he might be okay now that Scorbunny had shown up.

Scorbunny sized up his gigantic opponent. He gave a shrug, grinned, then proceeded to march up to the Gigantamax Pokémon.

Professor Faraday laughed from where he watched a short distance away. _Some people—or rather Pokémon—refuse to recognise their place in the world._

"Scorbunny . . ." Oscar managed to say. "That might not be the wisest move."

But Scorbunny wasn't listening. He was readying an attack. Oscar may not have been a Pokémon trainer yet, but even he knew Scorbunny would have no chance of beating such a massive Pokémon.

"Scorbunny!" Oscar shouted. "Don't. You'll get hurt. Bad!"

Scorbunny glanced back at Oscar. He looked unfazed. He hadn't yet learnt the meaning of 'hurt'. A light blue aura outlined Scorbunny's body and he charged at the Pokémon with incredible speed, bouncing off the ground. He smacked against the Gigantamax Pokémon.

But nothing happened.

The Gigantamax Pokémon showed no indication of pain or that he'd even noticed Scorbunny. Scorbunny was repelled by the Pokémon's thick slimy body and the Fire-type landed in a heap not far from Oscar. Oscar raced over. He tried to help Scorbunny stand, but the Rabbit Pokémon glared at him and brushed him off. Oscar felt Scorbunny get hotter as a purple aura glowed around the Gigantamax Pokémon. Oscar gulped. It was about to attack them.

"You're fast, Scorbunny," Oscar gasped. "Run while you can. Get away. I'll . . ." He choked on his tears.

Scorbunny stared back at him with determination in his orange eyes. The Fire-type wasn't going anywhere.

"Looks like . . . we're in this . . . together," Oscar forced out.

* * *

**EAGLECLAW'S NOTES:**

This chapter, the first scene in particular, was a lot of fun to write. I like to think I have developed Jess, Jaden, and Oscar well and I really like each of their characters' and their dynamic as a trio. Scorbunny, Grookey, and Sobble were also interesting to write. Let me know what you think of all of them!

Easter eggs in case you didn't catch the references (there might be more in there):

\- Peekaboo (a chapter in Awakening Alola and a game played by Cyan and Kala with Kommo-o)

\- Alola Cola (a chapter in Healing in Hoenn)

\- Blaziken Mask (Kalos, anime and games)

\- The Retaliators (I'm mixed on Marvel. I think some of their films are really good, but one example, personally I thought Infinity War was miles better than Endgame. Jaden adores those kind of films, though, and that's why I parodied The Avengers here.)

**KOKORO'S NOTES:**

Just to respond to another comment, but Finn Denholm was originally Yuichi from _Healing in Hoenn_, but I've changed his name to fit more with the world that I've established. He'll be coming back to star in the Crown Tundra story that I write. In the next chapter, we'll be wrapping up this chronicle!


	8. Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Pt 3

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles  
Entry 5**

**Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar - Part 3  
Written by UKEagleClaw**

**Edited by KokoroEcho**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - "I Know Where Magnolia's Secret Stash Is!"**

Faraday clasped his hands together excitedly. The Gigantamaxed Pokémon was about to unleash a powerful attack. His scanners were already twitching at the prospect and Faraday himself couldn't wait. But then confusion twisted his expression. "What are they . . ."

"Grookey! Wind 'em up with Taunt!"

A small green Pokémon suddenly appeared before the Gigantamaxed Pokémon and must have said something incendiary because the larger Pokémon turned away from Oscar and Scorbunny and glared at the new Pokémon. The distraction caused the purple aura outlining the Gigantamaxed Pokémon to fade away.

"Jess! Jaden!" gasped Oscar, coughing because of the smog. "You should get out of here! It's not safe!"

"Just get over here!" Jess called back, covering her face with a hand.

Faraday had to adjust the settings of his goggles as a smokescreen drifted towards the Gigantamaxed Pokémon. Oscar and Scorbunny and Grookey disappeared into it and the large Pokémon looked around himself, looking rather confused.

Until three Pokémon emerged from the smoke. Unlike the previous Pokémon the large creature had faced, they looked coordinated, standing (or floating) side by side.

Faraday glared at them. _Blasted kids! They're going to interrupt my research! They don't realise what they're doing!_

The smog clouded most of their features, but Faraday noticed a group of young trainers. Disapproval curved his forehead into a frown. They seemed to be led by an unimpressive-looking boy with length dark brown hair. Like the others, he was unprepared for the occasion, wearing only black loafers, a black zip-up hoodie, and skinny jeans. A grey knit hat with three red stars on the brim and a fuzzy ball on the top was the biggest insult to Vernon Faraday. The boy's accomplices looked similarly shabby, although when Faraday saw the girl with silver-blonde hair his expression changed.

Finn selected three Poké Balls from his belt. First to appear was a red- and white-feathered Pokémon carrying a small sack. Second, a yellow and grey-furred canine Pokémon emerged, sniffing the air immediately and looking repulsed. And third was a Pokémon who could only be described as a colourful pool of sludge.

_What a terribly odd group of Pokémon, _reflected Faraday as Galar's three starters offered their support too. Scorbunny looked like he was limping, but he stepped forward anyway, joining Grookey and Sobble. But Faraday's gaze was drawn towards the leader's wristbands. One in particular interested him and caused a grin to pour onto his face.

The Gigantamaxed Pokémon gazed at the group, looking disinterested.

Nervousness tightened Finn's chest as he stared up at the Gigantamax Pokémon. He had faced Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon before in raid battles, but the difference was that he and the trainers he had joined had prepared extensively for the battles. Now it was pretty much going to be up to him and his Pokémon to stop this one. He smiled slightly. _Garbodor. Poison-type. Weak to Ground- and Psychic-type attacks. Time to find out how strong we've become._

"Boltund, use Thunderbolt! Muk, Mud Bomb! Delibird, Future Sight!"

Boltund tensed up and then bolts of electricity shot from his body and raced towards Garbodor.

Muk's slimy body disappeared into the ground. He re-emerged just a moment later and fired globs of mud from his mouth towards Garbodor.

Delibird's eyes shimmered blue. He focused his psychic energy until wormholes appeared around him. Electrified psychic energy shot into the wormholes at once, which then closed.

"Grookey, help out too! Try Razor Leaf!"

Grookey sheathed his branch between his two leaf-shaped hair tufts. Then his body gave off a green hue and razor-sharp leaves veered away from his body and towards Garbodor.

"Sobble, you too! Water Gun!"

Sobble looked nervous as he swallowed and then spat out a stream of water.

Scorbunny decided he didn't need to wait to be told to attack, spitting out a small fireball from his mouth.

Five attacks raced towards Garbodor. Streams of yellow, brown, green, blue, and red lit up the smog. Garbodor didn't bother with dodging. It looked like he winced a little, but then the massive Pokémon opened his mouth and emitted a terrible shriek. He raised his hands, if you could call them that, and the ground started to shake around them.

"G-Max Malodor . . ." Faraday breathed, anticipation oozing from his voice. "Against six Pokémon! This is going to be spectacular . . ."

"Return the starter Pokémon!" Finn ordered. "This could be bad! Muk, disappear with Dig!"

Jess nodded. She quickly returned Grookey and then Scorbunny as Sobble was sent back to his Poké Ball by Jaden.

Muk's slimy body seeped into the ground and disappeared from sight.

Freya watched on, fidgeting nervously and looking beyond Garbodor. Finn had wondered whether she would get involved, but remembering her earlier comment about struggling with the gym challenge, he chose not to tell her to get her Pokémon out.

Murky sludge oozed from Gigantamax Garbodor's body. Finn had to pinch his nose; the sewage-like water then shot into the air and missiled towards them. Finn shielded his face as his Pokémon were splattered with it. He blinked, then watched as Boltund and Delibird collapsed, eyes closed.

_Already? _he thought. _I thought we were stronger than this—or maybe Garbodor's too strong? _He turned towards Jess and Jaden. They had carried Oscar back. Oscar had regained his footing, but looked shaky. "You guys should get out of here," Finn said, also looking at Freya. "See if you can contact help. I'll delay Garbodor as long as I can, see what I can do."

Finn couldn't keep his gaze on them for long; he had to quickly think about his next Pokémon. He wasn't keen on what he had in mind, but he threw out his next Poké Ball anyway, knowing he might have no choice but to ask. A grey rugged-looking Pokémon with two chimneys appeared. "Wheez . . . ing," they breathed.

"Wheezing, Flamethrower!"

Wheezing breathed in. Smoke started to drift out of his chimney and then a fiery streak shot out his mouth. Flamethrower raked Garbodor's body. He looked slightly more irritated this time, the attacks beginning to hurt. He stomped forward.

"Now Muk!" Finn called.

This was one of the combinations they had been working on during training. The smog made it difficult to see what was happening, but while Muk did not resurface, his multicoloured slime dribbled to the surface and mixed with Garbodor's slime. Pain contorted Garbodor's face. Both Pokémon were Poison types, but Infestation was a Bug-type move and Muk's polluted body was causing problems even for the giant Pokémon. Contaminated, Garbodor convulsed and let out an angry shriek, glaring at Finn and Wheezing.

"Looks like we made him mad." Finn smiled slightly.

Garbodor lunged at Wheezing with an acidic arm. For such a big Pokémon, Garbodor was quicker than Finn had thought possible.

Finn's smile vanished. "Sorry, Wheezing. I need you to use Self-Destruct when Garbodor's arm gets close."

"Wheezing!" Wheezing agreed, laughing maniacally. He was happier about it than Finn was.

Garbodor's arm was about to swat Wheezing away when Wheezing glowed white and detonated, exploding violently. Garbodor's arm never reached Wheezing for it was torn off by the impact and landed in a slimy clump.

"Gar-Garbodor!" Garbodor boomed. He threw his remaining arm up and polluted waste shot into the air once more like a geyser.

"Muk! Shield us with Sludge Wave!"

Muk reappeared in front of his trainer and lifted two slimy hands. A wave of dark purple-and-black sludge rose up, operating as a shield. Finn heard Freya call out a Pokémon, but the _swoosh _of Garbodor's attack as it flew through the air cut off the Pokémon's name.

Muk's arms shook as he kept them lifted to keep the Sludge Wave barrier in place. Finn's eyes were wide. He was beginning to feel he was out of his depth. And then Muk's arms dropped; he couldn't keep up the barrier any longer. Sludge Wave was overpowered in seconds.

Finn flinched out of fear, expecting to be flung back by Garbodor's attack, but instead he found himself floating off the ground. He stared at his hand, outlined with a yellow glow. His Pokémon hadn't been so lucky, though, and was pooled on the ground. "Sorry Muk . . ." Finn murmured, his voice catching. _My Pokémon are getting wiped out one by one. Only Croconaw and Coalossal left. _Usually he would have relied upon his Dusknoir in such a back-against-the-wall scenario, but he had been wanting to train up all his Pokémon so he would have a greater range of Pokémon at his disposal at the Champion Cup, and this time around he had left Dusknoir in the PC.

"Sorry about that," Freya called over. Finn thought she looked surprisingly confident, at ease, floating in the air. There was also a yellow glow to her. A robotic Pokémon with a hard teal, metallic body levitated in front of her. "I got Metang to use Magnet Rise."

"Good thinking. I thought I was done for."

"Have you got any idea how we can take Garbodor down?"

"Let me attack with Croconaw."

Freya nodded. "I'll hold off Garbodor for as long as possible with Metang."

"Metang," Metang agreed.

"Alright, Metang! Use Agility, then strike quickly with Meteor Mash." Freya delivered the command with stone-cold precision.

Finn was too busy focusing on what he had to do next to pay any attention to Freya's commands. Floating in the air, Finn adjusted his Dynamax Band, pushing it up his arm. Underneath was another wristband with a blue crystal encased. Finn delved into his pocket and produced another Poké Ball. "Go, Croconaw!"

A blue- and yellow-scaled Pokémon appeared. Before Galar he might have done a little dance upon appearing from his Poké Ball, but serious training had gradually ended that and Croconaw could sense his trainer's worry straightaway. He glared at Garbodor, readying himself.

Garbodor stared back, about to attack when Metang shot forwards, its body covered in a blue aura and both torpedo-shaped arms positioned straight ahead.

But yet again, Garbodor looked unfazed by the attack. His eyes remained on Finn and Croconaw. Until wormholes opened up around him and Psychic energy battered his body. The Gigantamax Pokémon cried out in alarm and pain. And then there was a flash of blue as Metang scored a second hit.

_Thanks, Delibird, _Finn thought as he began to synchronise with his Pokémon. _Future Sight helped._

Around Finn the air started to vibrate and gain intensity. His heart thudded in his chest, but he struck one pose after the next. It was difficult to get it exactly right mid-air, but he didn't sense anything was wrong. Croconaw did the same and before Finn knew it, a wave of water towered behind them and swept forwards, turning into a powerful vortex mid-flow, and gushing against Garbodor. Metang had just hit Meteor Mash and was safely out of reach.

Garbodor blinked. He wavered, looked a little shaky, but he did not go down.

"What?" Finn muttered. "Even a Z-move didn't knock Garbodor down."

"My, my, my," Faraday observed. "So that's a Z-move live in person . . . what power, though not enough against a Gigantamax Pokémon it seems."

Just when Finn was considering what to do next, Garbodor fixed its glare on Freya and Metang. A stream of polluted waste shot towards Freya. Finn tried to shout a warning, but he was too slow. Seconds later and Freya would feel the strength of a Gigantamax Pokémon.

There was a flash of pink light, however, and an impressive-looking Pokémon with a large head and a thin moustache appeared, holding two spoons, one in either hand. The geyser of waste was coated in pink energy and sent crashing harmlessly away from Freya.

Freya blinked, shivered, then a look of surprise and recognition played out across her face as she saw who was responsible. A cold, distrustful look entered her eyes.

An odd-looking older man with greying hair approached them. He wore a weird mix of clothing—face mask, googles, white lab coat, gloves—that made him look like he belonged in a post-apocalyptic movie. _Or maybe we're already in the movie, _Finn thought. Finn was glad Freya was okay, but something didn't feel right about the newcomer. If he had just arrived and decided to intervene, he was wearing pretty odd clothing to just be passing by. _He must have been watching us . . ._

"Freya!" the stranger called. "Tell me you're okay."

Finn glanced at Freya, then looked back at the newcomer. "How does he know your name?"

"He's . . ."

"I'm her father, of course."

Their faces, maybe, were similarly shaped, but Finn was surprised they were related. He thought about when he had received Croconaw and he felt a twinge of envy stir, but he pushed it away and knew he was being silly—they had bigger problems to deal with.

"Garbodor . . ." Finn said. "He's not finished yet."

Garbodor answered with an almighty shriek.

Finn glanced at his wrist and in the process his grip tightened around his sole remaining Poké Ball. Croconaw wasn't down yet, but was breathing heavily after exerting himself using the Z-move. _If Garbodor has been able to Gigantamax away from its den, maybe I can Gigantamax too. Coalossal . . . _But he remembered clearly what had happened the last time he'd tried to control Coalossal's Gigantamax form—but was it worth the risk? Or would another out-of-control Gigantamax Pokémon only endanger Galar further?

* * *

Jess kicked the front door open Hitmonlee style. Her and Jaden had managed to carry Oscar between them, his arms draped over their shoulders. They struggled into the lounge and planted him down on the sofa.

"I'm sorry guys," he mumbled. "I know. I'm useless."

"No, you're not," Jess told him.

"Nah, that Garbodor . . . we're dealing with something crazy." Compared to Jess, Jaden sounded oddly calm. For all they knew Finn could have already been overwhelmed by Garbodor, yet despite that, a smile was beginning to creep onto Jaden's face. "Don't worry guys. It'll be okay. I've got an idea."

Oscar wasn't so convinced. "That sounds brilliant," he said dryly. "When have any of your plans ever worked? Just let that Finn handle it. I've seen him in adverts for the Champion Cup. He must be strong."

Jess shook her head vigorously. "We have to contact someone . . . Officer Jenny? Finn can't handle it alone."

Oscar rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Officer Jenny will race in with her Growlithe and stop a Gigantamax Pokémon, sure . . . Why don't we get Nurse Joy and Chansey from the Pokémon Centre while we're at it?!"

"Stop freaking out!" Jess said. "You're making me freak out!"

Oscar took a puff on his inhaler and didn't say anymore.

"There must be someone . . ." Jess wondered aloud.

"Hello? My idea," Jaden said, still smiling. For once Jess wasn't thrilled by that smile. "I'm going back."

"Going back?" Oscar gasped. "Did you see how big that thing was?"

"Jaden, don't be so stupid." Concern radiated from Jess' voice.

"Stupid? It's just a Pokémon at the end of the day." Jaden paused. Jess hoped he was reconsidering, but then he said, "Do you remember when Blaziken Mask found his Blazikenite and used its power to mega evolve Blaziken?"

"Jaden, I wish we could too, but we don't even officially own any Pokémon. We're definitely _not _strong enough to help right now." Jess' face reddened and she felt herself losing her cool again. "This isn't some comic book film!"

Oscar nodded.

Jaden shook his head. "You can stay if you want; I'm not stopping you, but it's bad out there and I'm not just going to sit around here twiddling my thumbs while Galar's in trouble. Helping out is what being a trainer is all about."

Jess sighed. "Okay. First of all, what's your plan? What are you suggesting we do?"

Jaden grinned. "I know where Magnolia's secret stash is!"

* * *

"Alakazam, Kinesis!"

Alazakam held out its silver spoons and concentrated hard, closing his eyes and frowning until another spoon appeared in front of him, bending.

"Is Kinesis really going to do much when Garbodor just attacks everything anyway?"

Faraday looked angrily towards Finn. "What else would you suggest?"

Finn shrugged. "Keep hitting it till it drops. Croconaw, use Hydro Pump!"

"Can you not perform that Z-move for a second time?"

"Only once," Finn admitted. "If I do it a second time, it could kill me."

Croconaw sidestepped a blast of sludge and swallowed. A moment later water erupted from his mouth and hurled through the air, gushing against Garbodor, who staggered a little.

"Keep it up, Croconaw!" Finn said, hoping, praying.

And then sludge oozed from Garbodor's body, pooling out and reaching Croconaw.

"Croconaw?"

Croconaw tried to lift one of his feet out of the murky green sludge, but couldn't. The sludge clung to his scaly skin. "Croconaw?" he repeated, struggling further, but to no avail. The sludge climbed its way up his body, making a _slurp_ing noise, until only his head was free.

_I don't like the look of this one bit, _Finn thought. He whipped out Croconaw's Poké Ball and returned his Pokémon. _Well, no choice now, only one left and I'm going to have to . . ._

Garbodor had attacked with G-Max Malodor again. A dozen or so sludge-filled geysers shot into the smog-infested sky. Finn lost sight of them for a moment until he saw them crashing back down to earth. Freya was busy protecting herself and so was Faraday. Finn staggered back, reaching for Coalossal's Poké Ball.

He saw it coming, but couldn't react in time. A clump of metal broke from the nearest geyser of polluted waste, spinning. The debris whacked against his arm. There was an ominous sound. He thought he heard something crack. Pain spiked outwards, rushing up his arm. He cried out. "Crap! Son of a- Ow! I think . . . my arm's broken . . ."

He felt lightheaded suddenly and he knew he was probably about to blackout. Pain seared his body and his head was throbbing. And before he knew it, he was falling to the ground. He watched Coalossal's Poké Ball slip from his grasp and roll a few paces away. It rested there for a few moments before bursting open.

The Pokémon that emerged was tall, but compared to Gigantamax Garbodor was only a tenth of his height. Coalossal's body was made of coal and heat radiated from his head as he saw the state his trainer was in. His red eyes glared at Garbodor.

"Klinklang, Protect!" Faraday said. As his Pokémon projected a blue barrier over himself, his trainer, and as far as Freya, he added, "We're leaving while we can. Your friend has already suffered from Garbodor. It's too strong to battle and we can't wear it down with status moves."

"Malamar, use Psybeam!"

Her Malamar fired multicoloured streams of aura from in front of herself at Garbodor. The attack seemed to do little damage.

"You never said it would get this bad!" Freya snapped. "Look how many people are hurt!"

"Research requires sacrifice."

You could tell from the expression on Freya's face that she disagreed, but she didn't say anymore.

"We have to go. I refuse to allow you to end up like your friend. He was meant to be one of Galar's strongest trainers, trained by Professor Magnolia, but I'm not so convinced."

As if he had heard the insult, fireballs of orange, yellow, red, and black flames appeared before Coalossal's mouth. He spat them out with fury. They burnt through the smog and erupted against Garbodor.

Suffering burnt in Garbodor's red eyes. "Gar-bo-dor!" boomed the Trash Heap Pokémon.

"That's it . . . That's it! I am _not_ risking your safety, Freya. We're leaving _now_."

"Not without Finn too."

"Compassion is not a researcher's friend."

"We're helping him, Dad, otherwise I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine. Get your Malamar to use Psychic on the boy. Klinklang, distract Garbodor."

Klinklang hovered away and started attacking Garbodor with Electric attacks.

"Malamar, Psychic."

Finn's body glowed as it was levitated away.

Gigantamax Garbodor set his sights on Coalossal and Klinklang. Klinklang had been swatted away and Coalossal was down to one knee.

The battle was lost.

Gigantamax Garbodor's rampage would continue.

Galar was in trouble.

But suddenly, behind them, there was a pink glow. The air shifted and the surrounding smog was cleared from the air. Faraday snapped his head around as blue sky and sunshine peered through overhead. Space was distorted and shock widened Freya's eyes as she stared at the cause of it. Because Sobble was no longer looking so small, so nervous, the Water-type had Dynamaxed, and Jaden stood behind, a Dynamax band attached to his wrist.

And then, before Freya knew it, Grookey and Scorbunny had appeared and were expanding in size too. Jess stood beside Jaden; Oscar was there too, limping badly, but clearly none of the 10-year-olds had given up hope of stopping Gigantamax Garbodor.

The Trash Heap Pokémon was eyeing the new arrivals with suspicion, not knowing what to make of the similarly-sized Pokémon.

The starters of Galar stared back evenly. Their Dynamax forms had given them confidence, their bodies flowing with newfound energy as they confronted the threat facing their region.

All of a sudden, Garbodor flinched. A black sticky substance had flown from Coalossal's mouth and had covered a portion of Garbodor's body. Garbodor tried to purge it with his body's slime, but the tar wasn't going anywhere.

Then the behemoth was distracted further by a jolt of electricity, courtesy of Klinklang, and a shot of psychic energy sent forward by Malamar.

Garbodor was about to counter-attack, but then his body convulsed from the earlier Infestation. He staggered more than he ever had before. For the first time, the gigantic Pokémon looked tired.

Finn's Pokémon and all the rest hadn't given up; they'd kept fighting until the end.

"This is their chance," murmured Faraday.

"Do it now," Freya urged.

"Ready guys?" Jaden asked them.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Oscar muttered.

Jess nodded. "Let's do it."

"Max Geyser!"

"Max Flare!"

"Max Overgrowth!"

The air shook and the sky shone. The energies of Water, Fire, and Grass were propelled towards Garbodor. An eruption more intense than any Faraday or Freya or the young trainers had ever encountered before radiated out from the impact. A blinding white light burst outwards and nothing more could be seen . . .

* * *

"Experts are calling it The Gigantamax Incident, although little is known about what happened. Some trainers reported seeing some kind of massive Pokémon, as high as one of Wyndon's skyscrapers, but even from the footage here . . ." amateur camera footage appeared on the TV screen in the corner of the hospital room, "the smog obscures whatever it was that was roaming from the Southern Wild Area. Chairman Rose has assured us that the situation is under control and there is nothing for anyone to worry about. Nothing will stop Galar's Champion Cup from going ahead as planned."

The TV screen went black. Finn sat back in his hospital bed. His arm was in a sling. Once the swelling went down, they were going to put a cast on. His arm felt weird, numb unlike before, but at least the pain had faded to a dull, not-so-irritating ache thanks to the painkillers.

Finn circled the TV remote's 'on' button with his forefinger and sighed. _I should be training for the Champion Cup right now, not cooped up in some hospital room. It could have been worse, though, I suppose; it could have been my foot. I wonder if this is how—_

Finn jumped a little as his phone vibrated on the bed beside him. The display read, _Incoming Call: Magnolia_, causing a smile to appear on his face.

"Finally! She's kept me waiting long enough!"

* * *

"It wasn't our fault," Jaden argued.

"There was this . . . like, humongous Pokémon," Jess added.

"It was gigantic!" Oscar agreed.

"We had to do something!" Jaden said. "I saw where you kept your spare Dynamax Bands when you were packing them away before and I thought they might help."

Professor Magnolia sipped at her tea. She had made some for everyone, but they had yet to drink any. Nerves, she guessed. "How I've missed Galar," she said softly. "Tea is very hard to come by in Alola." She turned towards the other person in the room. The older girl stood near the doorway while the three younger ones sat huddled together on the sofa. "Have you got anything to add, dear?"

Freya shook her head. She felt guilty about what happened. Her throat felt dry, but she managed to say, "I think they've pretty much covered it, Professor, and if it wasn't for them, things could have turned out very differently."

Professor Magnolia nodded. "Mmm . . . Finn said something very similar."

"Are you . . ."

"Go on, dear."

"Are you not going to let us become trainers now?" Jess finished. She imagined not going on her journey with Grookey. It didn't feel right.

"Don't be silly, Jess, of course not. I don't particularly approve of young Jaden using the Dynamax Bands, but given the circumstances, it was more than justified. You all did well. It was quick thinking . . ." The Professor glanced towards the window. "Sonia's investigating what might have caused it now. I thought my research was enough, but . . . there is still so much we do not know about this Dynamax phenomenon."

"We can help, Professor," Jess said.

Professor Magnolia smiled. "I'm sure you can, dear, but you don't need to. You don't need to burden yourself with it. In a few days, you kids will be leaving to go on your journeys and nothing should stop you from enjoying that to the fullest."

* * *

Professor Magnolia came to a stop and gestured for him to go first. This was when Finn became suspicious. He opened the front door of her house sheepishly and his ears were bombarded with,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Finn smiled despite himself. He had downplayed it, but Magnolia had known it was his 14th birthday and had decided to throw a surprise party to celebrate. His mum had made the trip from the Crown Tundra and he was pleased to see that Freya had stuck around. Jess, Jaden, and Oscar were there too. It was looking like there would be plenty of people to sign his cast.

"I had to organise a party," Magnolia told him. "It sounds like you saved Galar from destruction."

Finn shrugged. "I had help and I don't even remember if I was conscious by the time it was over."

"Don't be so modest, dude," Jaden said. "You were battling that Garbodor singlehandedly most of the time."

"He's right, Finn," Jess added. "Without you, we wouldn't have had time to go back and get the Dynamax bands."

Oscar nodded his agreement.

"I'm just pleased you weren't too badly hurt," added Finn's mother with a thick Crown Tundra accent. "You were very brave from the sound of it, but I hope you can avoid getting involved in something like this again in the future."

Finn nodded. He planned to. Everyone had said something but Freya. She stood a little bit away from the others. She gave him a quick smile when he looked towards her. He was about to go over and ask if she was feeling okay when a cup of punch was forced into his hand.

Finn took a few sips. When he had been helping Professor Magnolia with her research, the Professor had honed her love of tea and other drinks and had developed a number of interesting concoctions—some good and some bad. But she had started years ago and had learned which ones he preferred, so Finn downed the refreshing apple, mango, and passionfruit juice in a couple of gulps.

Everyone was soon chatting away. Finn caught up with his mother and Professor Magnolia and he enjoyed chatting to Jess, Jaden, and Oscar without the pressure of a regional catastrophe hanging over them. Nostalgia hit him while he talked to them; the three of them reminded Finn of when he had travelled in Alola with Logan and Luna.

But everyone was unsure what to think when Professor Magnolia wandered over to her stereo system. Everyone was expecting to hear some classical music, especially Finn who had heard more than his fair share when he'd been helping out the Professor. Anticipation gripped the room and lowered the volume of their voices as they waited. But instead of a serene, gentle orchestra and calm, soothing lyrics, a catchy beat and a woman's passionate vocals burst forth from the speakers. Finn laughed. So did everyone else.

Professor Magnolia smiled. "A talented trainer recommended it to me while I was in Alola. It's quite invigorating in all honesty."

Freya seemed more comfortable now and was talking to Jess. Finn was just about to go over to join them when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Finn took it out of his pocket and checked the display. He smiled and quickly raised the phone to his ear.

A familiar voice said, "I hear you've been saving Galar from destruction."

Finn laughed. "I've got the broken arm to prove it."

"It's no broken foot."

* * *

**EAGLECLAW'S NOTES:  
**Wow, this is the longest Pokémon chapter I have ever written. I tried to sprinkle in as many references as I could to Kokoro's universe throughout the three chapters as I could; I hope you've caught some.

I would like to say a big thank you to Kokoro; it's been great fun working with you to develop this story and I've really enjoyed writing Finn and creating, I hope, a very cool ensemble cast to occupy him.

From a personal perspective, I would also like to dedicate this chapter to Casper, my family cat. I actually finished writing this chapter while he sat nearby, having broken his femur in a few places the night before. He's currently at an animal hospital, so we're hoping he recovers with the fiery heart of a Litten soon.

And, in the spirit of Jaden's favourite film, The Retaliators (I think that's an easy reference to guess, haha), there is a post-credits scene to enjoy below:

**KOKORO'S NOTES:**

Thanks for writing it! I plan on eventually getting to Galar. I want to write short stories for the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra (Finn will be the lead character of the Crown Tundra story). Eventually, I'll get to a full story in Galar, which I'm hoping will conclude my "phase 2" so to speak. I'm a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it's one of the inspirations for the stories that I've been writing. Some of the stuff that took place in this chronicle will come into play… way down the line. But first, I have to finish "phase 1."

Speaking of Avengers...

* * *

**Post-credits scene:  
**After Finn's birthday party Jess, Jaden, and Oscar had returned to their homes while Professor Magnolia had offered to let Finn and Freya stay. Finn's mum had had to take a late train back to the Crown Tundra because of her work. Outside, the smog had completely cleared away and the night's sky was clear but dark. But while Professor Magnolia and Finn slept, Freya Faraday was fully awake. She had been unable to sleep—anticipation and guilt clawing at her conscience. Having no choice but to wait until early morning, she had had plenty of time to reconsider what she was going to do.

_But however much I respect Professor Magnolia, however much I like Finn, they're not family, _she had decided around midnight. If that was the case, though, why did she feel so ashamed of what she was doing?

She had already been to Professor Magnolia's room, now she stood over Finn. She almost stopped herself from giving the command, but then his eyes fluttered as if they were going to open fully and expose her. He would know what she had done and hate her for it. Scared, she blurted out, "Sleep Powder," and her Pokémon sprinkled green powder over him. His sleep deepened.

"I'm sorry, Finn . . ."

She turned away. She had been back and forth to the bathroom and kitchen so many times the night before that Professor Magnolia had noticed and asked if she was feeling okay. She had panicked for a moment and said, "Eh, I'm just thirsty," and feared that Magnolia knew what she was going to do.

In a way Freya wished Magnolia had known. Then the decision wouldn't be hers to make; she would have been stopped. But now the old woman was fast asleep and so was Finn. There was no avoiding it now. She entered the laboratory section of the house and released another Pokémon.

"Malamar, Psychic."

The tentacles on the purple squid-like Pokémon's head shot up and glowed.

A secret door opened up in the floor and Freya stepped inside. At the bottom of the staircase was a secret room. Rare books and other artefacts were on display, but Freya had no interest in those. She approached the desk with an ancient-looking computer on and pulled open the top draw.

An earpiece was fixed to her ear. "I'm in. I've found them," she told him.

"Well done, Freya. You've done the right thing."

Freya wanted to believe her father, but she was unconvinced by his words and apprehension gripped her as she took the Dynamax Bands fitted with Wishing Stars and dropped them into her backpack. She turned and walked back up the stairs. At the top she paused and looked back, thinking until she could bear her guilt no longer. She ordered Malamar to close the secret door and left the laboratory, sealing her betrayal.


	9. Akashiro Himiko

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles  
Entry 6**

**Akashiro Himiko**

**ALL THE POWER OF ALOLA**

**Written by UKEagleClaw**

* * *

The sun shone high over the islands of Alola. But while the blue, cloudless sky looked content, peaceful even, the summit of Wela Volcano was a different story: shouting, smoke, and small explosions. The ingredients of battle carried into the atmosphere overhead, and the Alolan sun was watching Akala Island and its heated battle eagerly, hot with anticipation.

Two young trainers were breathing heavily and were sweating with the exertions of battle. The challenger had travelled far, but not for Alola's Island Challenge. For a different reason and, for her, a trial and some stupid stamp meant nothing when compared.

Because Akashiro Himiko's entire life had been leading to this moment. As she stood on ground that might have been familiar to her in some parallel universe, she knew she _had _to win. Victory would be their redemption.

Himiko glared at her opponent with brown eyes so dark they looked almost red, a common trait amongst her family. Her dark brown hair flowed wildly. She wore old ripped jeans and a faded top. Other kids her age might have been more concerned with their appearance, but she was too preoccupied with her goal to care for such trivial things. She brushed hair out of her eyeline, and that was good enough for her.

She had planned to be aggressive, to scare her opponent, and throw him off his game. It might have worked on other kids. His face looked no more than 11-years-old, but he was tall for his age and his well-muscled physique showed that his family had been preparing him for his role as Trial Captain all his life. His eyes, as black as obsidian, gave nothing away.

Beads of sweat trickled down Himiko's forehead. She was still trying her best to combat the heat and recover her breath. _It's _so _hot! _her mind screamed.

_Don't you think I'm aware of that?!_ her subconscious snapped back.

They had been battling for what seemed like hours and Himiko had already had to hike her way up the volcano. Overeager hikers and stupid sightseers had been naïve enough to challenge the scowling teen. All had returned their Pokémon and scurried off downhill to the nearest Pokémon Centre. _Shouldn't have messed with me then, _she'd thought when they'd criticised her brutality. She had inflicted as much misery on them as she had been planning to inflict on her opponent.

_Kiawe._

He stood there, so expressionless, looking oblivious to the crimes of his family.

Hatred rushed through her and overpowered her emotions. Hatred curled her fingers until her hands turned to fists. Hatred made her picture being back at her local dojo in Celestic Town and whacking him around the head with her shinai, even though her sensei would have disapproved. Her heart pounded. She wanted to crush him _so much_, but she knew the only way to avenge what had happened was to beat him in a Pokémon battle.

Ever since she had found out what _they _had done, she had been overcome with determination to right the wrongs of the past.

"TORKOAL!" she yelled. "ATTACK! BURN THEM OFF THE FACE OF THE REGION WITH OVERHEAT!"

* * *

The 12-year-old had been searching for him _all_ year. Every time it looked like she was close, she'd find out he'd left town and travelled someplace else. Promotional posters, empty arenas, and colourful confetti were left in his wake. By the time she did catch up to him, other trainers were making their last pushes to earn badges before the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Whenever it got cold and the wind and the rain lashed against her, or when she found herself unable to beat a wild Pokémon or another trainer and had to turn and run, her frustration had gotten the better of her. She'd wondered whether it would be easier to just give up. When she had set out, she hadn't known it would take this long to track down just one guy . . . even if he _was _a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four.

But every time she'd felt lost, she had reminded herself of the intense battle that awaited her. She gathered herself up and toughed out snowstorms, high winds, whatever terrible conditions she found herself in, with the hope that today would be the day pushing her forward.

The one advantage of the delay in finding him was that it had given her extra time to train. She thought she had prepared suitably, but, well, the battle wasn't going as well as she'd envisioned . . .

"Monferno! No . . ." She gritted her teeth and glared at her opponent. He'd taken off his long black trench coat with red trim earlier in the battle to reveal a white tank top and, to the delight shrieks of several fangirls in the crowd, his bulging muscles, which he flexed multiple times. Himiko had just found their reactions and his posing irritating. His long black hair, perfect jawline, and almost-sparkling white teeth had only drawn more admiration from the crowd. He wore black leather jeans like he was a member of the Obstagoons. She hardly noticed the glass bracelet of petrified lilies on his wrist. From what she knew and had heard about the Elite Four on her journey, she had been expecting . . . well, something else.

The referee raised a flag and dramatically announced, "Monferno is unable to battle! That means, your winner _is_—the _Brutal King of Fiery Execution_—it's KAWAHARA HAYATO!"

Hayato smirked. "Another win. How many's that now? Hmm, should be . . . number 210," he said it as if he hadn't been keeping count. He had.

Some booed. They thought he sounded arrogant—would his winning streak _ever_ end?—but others found his showmanship and bad attitude cool. The cheers equalled the boos.

Himiko took out her Poké Ball. She gripped it tightly, wishing she had the strength to crush it. Then she sighed and returned Monferno. _You should have done more, _she wasn't sure if her mind was telling Monferno or her that.

Hayato strolled over. "Not bad, kid!"

When she had challenged Hayato, he had demanded the battle take place in front of a crowd. Locals had pointed them towards the nearest sandy battlefield. A crowd so large had gathered that the outer white markings of the battlefield were lost underneath the feet of spectators. Some on the fringes had already left, but the majority were still watching. Himiko hadn't expected to be battling in front of a crowd and was embarrassed by her performance.

"But I was _terrible_! Only one of your Pokémon fainted." Her voice lowered to a murmur. She usually talked more loudly, but she lacked the confidence she usually had. "All three of mine did . . ."

Hayato shook his head vigorously. "It's your first year as a trainer, right?" he murmured so the crowd wouldn't hear.

Himiko nodded, too disappointed in herself to say anymore.

"And guess what?" Hayato raised his voice. "I'm Kawahara Hayato! Master of Fire, and Sinnoh Elite Four member! The Brutal King of Fiery Execution! Damn, saying that never gets old. I've been training Pokémon for at least ten times the time you have! And there's a lot of trainers like you, who want to see what they've got against an Elite Four, but most of them can't even incinerate a single one of my Pokémon." He smirked at the crowd. "A bunch of losers, just like all of _you_!" They booed. "But you . . . you remind me of someone. I like you. You and your Pokémon burn with the determination I like to see in all young trainers! You should be pleased!"

He winked at her and Himiko's disappointment wavered. She felt her confident self returning. _Hayato's right. It took plenty of years for him to get that strong. If I want to be the greatest Fire-type trainer, I've got to keep improving._

Hayato stepped closer and spoke quietly: "I may be a Fire-type trainer, but Sinnoh's a cold region. Not particularly renowned for its Fire-type Pokémon. If you really wanna get stronger using Fire-types, why don't you head to a region like Hoenn or Kalos? Ciprys or Kalos even. There's strong Fire-type trainers in all four. If you can beat a few of them, come back, challenge me, and show me how much brighter your flame is!"

* * *

But after travelling to Lavaridge Town, and on her second attempt beating the local gym leader, Himiko had been staying with grandparents on her mother's side, only to discover a startling truth: her ancestors had left Alola following a dispute with those who now called themselves Trial Captains.

Himiko could remember her mother telling her younger self stories of their family's adventures in Alola, in Hoenn, and in Sinnoh. Until Himiko had grown up enough to grow tired of bedtime stories and had started to doubt their authenticity. She had known she had relatives who lived across the globe, but her mother's stories had felt more like fiction than reality.

She had called her mother the day after finding out. Her mother confirmed what had happened in Alola, but said no one alive knew the full details before telling her daughter, "It doesn't matter now. We've all moved on."

But Himiko had lay awake that night, wondering what might have been. If things had been different, maybe she would have been training to be the next Trial Captain—whatever _that _meant—in Alola. She had searched _Alola _on the internet, but only scowled at her screen as her investigation uncovered how Alola had deformed Vulpix and Ninetales into Ice-type Pokémon!

As minutes turned into hours, Himiko had decided she couldn't ignore her feeling that her family had been mistreated. Her anger flared, and by the time morning came, she was preparing to travel to Alola—to set things right.

But she had to admit, Kiawe had been trained well. She was down to her last Pokémon; he still had two remaining. She bit her lower lip as she produced a scratched and dented red-and-white Poké Ball that was hardly immaculate. She wiped sweat from her forehead, then breathed out before clicking the button and releasing her final Pokémon.

_You've been on my team ever since my journey began. You may not be from Alola and I've only known you for two years, not long really, but you're part of my family too and I know you can avenge us. I believe in you . . ._

A large primate-like Pokémon materialised from the energy that streamed out of the Poké Ball. His fur was a mix of reddish-brown and thicker white. Gold markings protected his shoulders, chest, knuckles, and knees, and a large flame streaked behind him from atop his head. Himiko's Pokémon said nothing, but you could tell by the look in his eyes, he was confident.

Infernape had seen Himiko through many tight battles in the past, but nothing could change the fact that Kiawe still had two Pokémon remaining. Himiko blamed herself for that. She'd been caught off guard by Kiawe's battling ability. _It's going to be a close one, _she predicted.

It took longer than Himiko would have liked, but Infernape did topple Kiawe's second-last Pokémon. It was now down to Infernape and Kiawe's final Pokémon.

"Infernape, hit 'em hard! Hit 'em fast!"

A silvery aura surrounded Infernape. He shot forwards with unexpected speed.

"Marowak, quick! Counter with Bonemerang!"

Himiko had been surprised upon seeing Kiawe's Marowak. It was darker in colour than its Kanto form, and Himiko had had to guess its type; because of the blue-green flames on both tips of its bone-club, she'd guessed Fire. Like their previous Pokémon, only the strongest of Fire-type attacks would deal any significant damage. She had tried Flamethrower from a distance, but that had done little to wear down Marowak's formidable defence and she suspected she had to do something before Infernape suffered from facing consecutive opponents; non-Fire-type moves were best used, she knew, however much of a betrayal it felt like.

"Maro-wak!" Marowak cried as he flung his bone at Infernape.

Himiko didn't have time to say anything. Even if she had done, it wouldn't have made a difference. Infernape saw Marowak's bone spinning towards him and leaped into the air, clearing the bone with ease, before, now high in the air, angling his body towards Marowak and diving like a Flying-type.

"Flame Wheel!" Kiawe said quickly.

Infernape was closer than ever to striking his target, but Marowak closed his eyes, waited patiently. Heat intensified nearby. Himiko only realised where from as Marowak's bone flew back towards him, past her vision, spinning and flames all around. But Infernape was still on course to hit Marowak before his bone could reach them.

It would be close, though, and Himiko knew from Infernape's pained expression just before he had attacked with Aerial Ace that he couldn't take much more.

"Pull out!" she decided. "Infernape, pull out! Change of plan!"

Infernape was a proud Pokémon and had gone through a phase of disagreeing with her commands, but over time his confidence in his trainer had returned and ultimately increased. Without hesitation he spread his arms wide, slowing. He flipped forwards, and as soon as he landed, flipped backwards. Marowak's bone did return to him, but Infernape was now out of reach. Marowak grabbed his bone and twirled it restlessly; more flames than usual were dancing around him, Himiko noticed.

But Marowak's display and the raised temperature did not faze Infernape. He sneered at Marowak, and once his trainer uttered her command, he darted forwards once more. He wasn't as fast as before. Marowak took up a defensive stance anyway, though, his bone at the ready.

Infernape flew in with a dark blue foot. Marowak blocked the kick with his bone, but Infernape used the hard surface of the bone for leverage. He performed a flip, landed quicker than anyone thought possible, and aimed lower this time around. Marowak couldn't reposition his bone in time and Infernape's kick struck the side of Marowak's leg.

"_Marowak_," Marowak muttered. He crumbled to one knee, caught off guard by the strength of Infernape's kick.

_Infernape has that effect on Pokémon, _Himiko thought. His species might have been called the Flame Pokémon, but she had learned over their time together, that however strong his Fire-type attacks had become, his hidden strength had been concealed in his hands and feet and even his tail, in his ability to assault his opponents with a barrage of strikes.

A grin fell onto Himiko's face. _Right on cue, _she thought. Infernape was relentless. He wasn't giving Marowak any chance to recover, pelting the rival Pokémon's body with a combination of punches and kicks. Marowak was struggling; Kiawe's instructions weren't able to save his Pokémon. Himiko could sense victory. Nerves suddenly churned her stomach as her Pokemon slammed into Marowak with all his force. Then he pulled back his fist to deliver one last punch.

But the punch never arrived. Infernape froze, and confusion seized his trainer's face. Unbeknown to Himiko, Alolan Marowak's ability was Cursed Body which had disabled Infernape's attack, Close Combat.

Marowak staggered backwards as if he had expected to feel the full force of Infernape's final attack. Relief flashed in Marowak's eyes, then he regained his composure. He tightened his grip on his bone and smashed it into Infernape with all his might. Time seemed to slow for Himiko as the bone ripped into Infernape and threw her Pokémon backwards.

"Infernape!" Himiko cried, as Infernape crashed in a heap in front of her. She felt an inferno of emotions. Her concern turned to disbelief, then frustration and desperation as she said, "Get back up! Now! C'mon, Infernape!" _We can't lose this . . . _she nearly added.

"Infer . . . nape!" Infernape muttered, staggering to his feet but cradling his right arm against his chest.

Kiawe smiled slightly. "Marowak, it's time to unleash the power of Alola!"

"Marowak!" Marowak agreed, discovering a second, fresh wave of energy as he shifted his feet.

_Power of Alola? _wondered Himiko. "What do you mean?"

Kiawe started striking a pose. Marowak did the same. Confusion clouded Himiko's face, but then she sensed something. _The air . . . is something happening? Is it vibrating? _And she noticed energy forming around Kiawe and Marowak, trainer and Pokémon moving as one.

"They're up to something," Himiko told Infernape. "As soon as they attack, block it with Flamethrower. Then, if there's smoke, fly through at an angle and hit 'em hard with Aerial Ace."

Infernape nodded, eyes on his opponents, but Himiko's plan to counter-attack mattered not.

Marowak raised his bone and starting spinning it gracefully above his head. The air rippled. Flames appeared. A fireball unlike any Himiko had ever seen before burst into being. She felt herself tremble at the sight of it: so large that light green flames were all she could see; so hot that she thought her hair would be singed from her face.

Fear urged her to close her eyes, look away, but curiosity told fear to shut up and go away. Because Himiko had never seen an attack like it. No Fire-type attack she had experienced before could compare to it. She could feel the strength rushing around and emanating from Marowak. She was mesmerised. She refused to look away. (Even if, for a few seconds, she felt like her face was going to turn to wax and melt off.)

And then Marowak transferred his bone to his right hand. He stared at Infernape. Then he did it. His bone struck the fireball. He attacked with all the Power of Alola.

Infernape was as astonished as his trainer, so much so that he had no idea what to do as the fireball blasted against him.

When Himiko's vision was no longer flashing light green, she saw her Pokémon on the ground, collapsed. Her eyes widened at what she'd just witnessed. "Arceus, what in Sinnoh was that . . .?" she muttered. She stared at Kiawe for a moment, then turned to Infernape. She sank to her knees and cradled his head in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Infernape. Looks like we've still got a long way to go."

Infernape managed a small nod. "Infer . . . nape . . ." he murmured before closing his eyes.

"You deserve . . . a long rest," Himiko said, fighting a lump in her throat as it hit her: _I lost. I failed. But that attack . . . I don't understand. I've never seen such a powerful Fire-type attack before . . . What was it? 'Power of Alola,' he said . . ._

Marowak had crumbled to the ground too. The Bone Keeper Pokémon had used up the last of his energy to attack, and so Kiawe had returned his Pokémon too. Kiawe stayed where he was, though, unsure whether to approach his challenger or not.

Suddenly Himiko wanted nothing more than to get away. _There's no reason to stay_, she told herself. _I lost. I failed. I embarrassed myself. _She nearly turned away—but that attack . . . It triggered something within her. Despite all the animosity she harboured towards Kiawe and his family, a big part of her wanted to learn more.

The battle had been exhausting. Sweat trickled down Kiawe's body. He wanted to find some shade and rest, but he didn't know what to do about Himiko. Minutes must have passed. He was tempted to leave without saying anything when both his and Himiko's heads turned in the direction of someone shuffling onto the volcanic battlefield. It was an ancient-looking man with white-and-red hair, thick eyebrows, and a short scruffy beard. A Charizard padded along beside him. Old man and Pokémon shared the same slow, relaxed pace.

"Grandfather. What are you doing here?"

"Watching your battle," Kiawe's grandfather answered as though it were as obvious as a Pikachu's cuteness. He fixed black eyes on Himiko. "I recognise you. I know why you're here."

Himiko's limbs ached from battling, but his words spiked her anger. Her eyes flashed murderously. "And I bet you're here to answer for what _you _did!"

Charizard took a step towards Himiko.

But Kiawe's grandfather raised a hand and shook his head. "I was only a child then," he dismissed firmly. "Much like you both are now. My memory isn't as strong as it once was, but I remember a small piece of the battle, how magnificent, how exciting, how fierce it was. Maybe too much so . . . Many battlers from either family took part, but we won in the end and the embarrassment suffered by your ancestors, Himiko, led them to leaving the Island."

"They felt like they had no option but to leave. I didn't want them to leave . . ." He paused, remembering. Then he took a deep breath and continued, "But you have two options, young Himiko. You can keep judging our family by the actions of the past, or you can embrace who we are _today_. What happened to your family wasn't right, yes, but it was a different time, and they were entitled to leave the island or stay. Ultimately, it was their choice to leave."

Himiko wanted to scream at the stupid old fool—_of course he'd say that! _He knew whose fault it was, who turned her once-proud ancestors into outcasts, hopping from region to region in search of a new home!—but then her thoughts slowed. She was breathing heavily. She could feel her anger coursing through her. She thought about it and realised she didn't like the feeling.

_Have I been holding onto my hate for too long?_

As soon as she had found out about her family's past, she had left Hoenn behind and hurried to Alola. Even from the boat, the grey plumes spiralling up from the blackened peak on Akala Island had made it obvious where her family's wrongdoers would be hiding. Yet, between travelling there and training on the way to keep her skills sharp, the whole process had taken months and not much else had crossed her mind but hatred for Kiawe's family.

_Mum, _she thought. _She wanted me to leave it in the past. Maybe that's what I should be doing . . ._

Teenage stubbornness worked against her. She struggled to get the words out, but Akashiro Himiko felt a weight vanish from her shoulders as she said, "You're right. I might still struggle completely to get over it, but what happened wasn't your fault. It was a long time ago and people behaved differently back then."

Kiawe's grandfather nodded in agreement.

"You were on fire during our battle," Kiawe acknowledged, sounding more soft-spoken than he had during their battle. "I enjoyed it. If it wasn't for my Z-move, I'm not sure I would have won. We—"

"Z-move?! What's a Z-move?"

Kiawe's grandfather laughed. "An attack of immense power," he answered for his grandson. "There are 18 different known Z-Crystals, but you must first have a Z-Ring to use a Z-move."

Kiawe tapped his wrist. Himiko hadn't paid it much attention—she'd just presumed it was some kind of watch or accessory—but now amazement surged through her. Could such a small device really hold such power within?

Kiawe's grandfather ran his eyes critically over her. "Hmm, you might be capable enough. _Maybe_. But trainers must be in absolute sync with their Pokémon to unlock the _full_ potential of a Z-move."

Passion ignited in Himiko's eyes. "You saying me and Infernape aren't in total sync, old-timer?!"

Kiawe's grandfather was about to retort when Kiawe cut in, "We should battle again sometime, maybe even for a Z-Crystal, but just for fun, to get stronger as trainers. In the spirit of competition."

"Agreed," Himiko said. "We'll find out who the greatest Fire-type trainer is."

"I know before the battle you said you weren't here for it, but take it—as a sign of the peace between our families." Kiawe took something out of his pocket. When his fingers uncurled, an amulet was visible in his palm.

Himiko had seen the bright colours and beads before, around the necks of trainers she had faced on her way to and up Wela Volcano. Before, she couldn't care less. But now, she knew her approach had to be different. It was going to take years for her to get stronger—to be the strongest Fire-type trainer she could be. To improve, she had to face trainers who specialised in other types.

On her way to Akala Island, she had seen the other Alolan Islands in the distance. Curiosity dawned in her mind at the thought of what she might find: the trainers, the Pokémon, even the Z-thingies.

She took the amulet gratefully and lowered it until it was around her neck. The last traces of her anger faded. Akashiro Himiko was looking forward to the future. And the amulet . . . the amulet felt like it belonged there.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Himiko has been a really cool character to develop. When Kokoro asked me about making an OC to replace Blaine, my first thought was to have a young character who contrasted to Blaine. I took inspiration from the Japanese shamaness-queen, Himiko, in name and in appearance. Because of Kokoro's love for Alola, I wanted to make her from Alola; I had the idea of two families clashing for supremacy in Alola, and it became a big part of her character from there on out.

I enjoyed writing Infernape vs. Marowak. Himiko was desperate to win during the battle and writing that got very gripping/intense by the time Infernape's Close Combat failed. Honestly I like a lot how I described the Z-move. That was the point where Himiko's anger faltered; she became more interested in learning about Alola.

I would also like to say a big thank you to AppleCrescent for their reviews on Gigantamax: Rampage Through Galar! Thanks for your comments, and glad you enjoyed it!

**Kokoro's Notes:**

I think Himiko might be one of the most well-developed characters that I've been given. I really like how invested EagleClaw got into her. I'm not sure if she'll ever come back to my stories, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. Also, wait up. Who was she battling in that flashback sequence?

* * *

**Post-Credits Scene:  
**"Hydro Pump!" called a girl with short pitch-black hair tied back into a ponytail. She was small for a girl her age, but that didn't halt the determination radiating from her voice.

Her opponent took a deep breath. She looked formidable with dark red markings across her face, her hair braided down the middle and drawn back into a high ponytail, and a brightly-coloured amulet from some distant region hanging from her neck. She started to move her arms, striking the poses and hoping she'd performed them correctly.

The small girl with pitch-black hair—just like she'd been once—wasn't sure what her opponent was doing, a puzzled look across her face. _But she will, _thought the amulet bearer.

"INFERNO OVERDRIVE!" Akashiro Himiko shouted.

As she watched Infernape drive the all-powerful fireball across the battlefield, she recalled the first time someone had used a Z-move against her. She smiled at the memory.

Although, however much she wanted to win, she felt bad for her opponent. There was no escape for Vaporeon. The heat was too much. The Water-type succumbed to the pain, slumping to the ground.

Himiko recognised the disappointment in her opponent's face from her own experiences. The referee made the result official. The crowd had been silent in awe of the power they'd just witnessed, but were now cheering loudly.

Himiko approached the younger trainer and smiled fondly. "You're strong," she told her, "but your journey's just begun and you've still got plenty to discover."

Egawa Seshiru's gaze brightened at her words. "I'm annoyed I lost, but thanks!" She bowed slightly. "I hope we can have a rematch someday. My Water-types aren't losing to any Fire-types ever again!"


	10. Reina Eguchi and Kato Yuta

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles**

**Entry 7**

**Reina Eguchi and Yuta Kato**

**Like PB and J**

* * *

The lights went down, and the graphics on the board changed, revealing a young girl's face. It was her rookie year as a coordinator, and it was the first time that she ever saw her face on the screen with the word 'WINNER' displayed brightly.

She could have cried at that moment, but she had to keep her cool. She was overcome with happiness. She pulled her thick-rimmed glasses from her face and wiped her forehead that was caked with sweat.

She did it. She won her first ribbon.

"Your winner of the Autumn Celadon Ribbon, Eguchi Reina!"

The crowd cheered, whooped, and clapped for the hometown girl. Reina ran onto the stage and met with her Charmander, who was worn down from two battles, but adrenaline kept him excited for the moment. Surely, he'd be feeling different the next morning.

Reina was presented with a jade ribbon with golden lining. She held it high for the cameras. Charmander struck a pose, and their picture was taken. Her win would make the news the next day, and she was excited to read about it. Print had mostly gone out of style, but she was going to pick up a newspaper to give to her grandmother. They'd keep it forever.

In a flash, all of it came to an end. Reina was guided to the back, the audience left, and everything went quiet. Reina was left alone with her Charmander and Butterfree, the two Pokémon that got her this far. They admired the ribbon, the first of five which would take them to the Kanto Grand Festival. She never believed that she would earn a ribbon, so holding one in her hands was surreal.

When she gained the strength, she changed into her regular clothes, a handknit brown sweater that was too large for her and a red miniskirt, and she returned to the Pokémon Center. She wanted to visit her grandmother, but she was usually asleep when the clock hit 6 P.M. Reina would have to wait until the next day.

Upon returning to the Pokémon Center, she looked around. It was mostly empty with the exception of a few trainers. Some of them had competed in the contest, but she assumed that the others were taking on gyms. She had no idea how anyone could challenge gyms, as it seemed like a heavy task.

"What do you say we celebrate tonight?" she asked Charmander and Butterfree.

They responded with joyful cheers.

Reina made her way over to the cafe, which had been closed for the night. However, the vending machines were always readily available. She looked over her options, and unable to choose just one soda, she bought a dozen. She bought two cans that were 'Pokémon safe.' She was sure that one would be enough for Charmander's small belly, and she knew that Butterfree would enjoy the sweet taste of PokéCola.

She handed the two cans over to her Pokémon while fumbling around and trying to hold the other ten herself. The three made their way towards their room, receiving glances from other trainers. Reina knew that it was awkward to hold all ten cans of soda by herself, but she already put herself in the situation, and there was no easy way out of it.

She took big steps as they walked through the hallway; she felt that it would help her keep her balance. Through the mess of cans, she eventually lost sight of Charmander, who was sipping away happily at his drink.

All it took was one misstep.

"Char!" the Pokémon screeched as he felt the full weight of Reina's foot come down onto his tail.

Reina, startled, threw the cans of soda into the air. They crashed and tumbled onto one another, exploding into a mountain of fizz and sugar. Reina held up her arms to defend herself, although she was miraculously safe from the caffeinated onslaught.

However, one passerby was not.

"What's your problem?!" a rough voice shouted.

Reina slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms. She looked at her hand, finding that a small droplet of soda got on her thumb. "Oh no! My thumb is going to be sticky!"

"Hello?!" the voice shouted again.

Reina adjusted her glasses, and the angry voice was now given a source. Covered in soda was a boy, maybe only a year older than Reina. He had on stylish black glasses and wore a green jacket and blue jeans. His short hair would have been nicely set into place had it not been for the soda, but that was not the case. He glared at Reina after cleaning his glasses.

"I repeat. What's your problem?!" he screamed.

"I'm-I'm sorry!" Reina said before vigorously bowing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! You see, we won the contest, and we wanted to celebrate! We bought a bunch of soda, but it was too much, and I'm very dumb, and I tried to carry them all like a dumb-dumb, but I shouldn't have! I was just so excited and overjoyed that I couldn't control myself! And then-and then I stepped on my poor little Charmander's tail, and now we're here! I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry!"

The boy sighed. He could tell that the girl meant no harm. He just hated being covered in soda. He looked the other way, took in a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

"It's okay. Just be more careful next time. I have to take a shower."

And with that, the boy was gone, disappearing into his room without another word.

Reina licked the small spot of soda off of her thumb and then sighed with relief.

"That was so close!" she exclaimed. She looked around the hallway and at the mess, finding that one soda hadn't exploded. She picked it up and smiled. "Let's clean up and then party!"

"Char!"

"Free!"

That night, the three enjoyed their small party. They drank their soda and took pictures with one another. It was great for Reina and her Pokémon, but she couldn't have helped but felt that it would have been better if she could have celebrated with another human. Pokémon were great, but they couldn't speak human language. She was unsure how much Charmander and Butterfree actually understood her because as far as she was concerned, she could never perfectly understand them.

The next morning, Reina was coming off of a sugar high. Her head ached, and every noise sent her mind into a slow downwards spiral. She groggily made her way to the cafe and put what she described as _a thousand scrambled eggs_ on her plate.

Her Pokémon followed her, and had it not been for Butterfree grabbing her attention, she would have sat alone, but sitting in a booth was the boy from yesterday. His hair was now perfectly the way that he liked it, brushed to the side. He was eating pancakes and reading from a book.

"I should apologize," Reina exclaimed. She stood up straight and tried to ignore her headache. Once she made it to the boy's table, he looked up, and his eyes widened.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Good morning."

"I wanted to apologize about last night! I'm so sorry!"

The boy sighed. "I think that's your fifth sorry. No need to apologize. Stupid things happen sometimes. Just be careful next time."

"You got it! I will be!" she said. She looked at his plate of food, noticing that he was eating his pancakes as they came. "No syrup? It's delicious!"

The boy sighed. "I like my pancakes like this. Too much sugar will make you fat."

"A little sugar can't hurt!" she said, forgetting about the literal sugar-induced headache that made getting out of bed feel like going to war. She set down her plate of eggs and then reached over to the other side of the table, grabbing a small glass bottle of syrup. "Try it!"

"No!" the boy screeched. He grabbed her wrist and tried to hold her back from pouring the delicious goop onto his mountain of fluffy discs. But the girl was surprisingly strong. That, or the boy was weak, but he wouldn't admit it.

The two struggled momentarily. He was able to hold her off for a while, but she was slowly getting closer to having it her way.

"Stop!" he yelled.

"A little sugar will do you good!" she exclaimed, unaware of just how angry the boy was.

"I like them plain!"

"Live a little!"

Then, as though Arceus hated the boy, the bottle of syrup exploded, and the boy's green jacket was covered. Reina pulled back her hand, noticing that a small drop got onto her wrist.

"Oh no! That's gonna get sticky!"

The boy was filled with rage, and he couldn't help but lash out. He threw his book to the side and then stood up. "How could you?! What do you think you're doing?! I didn't ask for your maple suggestions! I wanted my pancakes plain! What don't you understand about that?! Does no mean no to you, or what?! And my jacket! You got my jacket soaked in sugar! Twice! Twice!"

Reina stopped licking the side of her thumb and then slowly put her arms at her sides. She couldn't help what happened next, as she burst into tears.

"You didn't have to yell!" she shrieked.

The boy was unsure what to do, as everyone was now looking at the two of them. Although he knew he was in the right, he felt guilty about yelling at her. He forgot about his jacket, even if it was only momentary.

"Apologize!" a familiar voice yelled.

The boy looked up and found Nurse Joy. She was usually kind and her eyes were almost always gentle; not now. She glared at the boy and stood over him, ready to scold him even more if she was forced to.

"But-" he started. "My jacket! She got syrup on my-"

Nurse Joy raised her hand, ready to strike the boy. "It's bad luck to make girls cry, Mr. Kato!"

He sighed and then closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to go and change my clothes."

And without another word, he left, disappearing into the hallway.

"Didn't even have the decency to eat his pancakes," Reina muttered.

"That's Yuta," Nurse Joy said. "He's got a way with words and can be a bit rude! Please don't mind him!"

Reina nodded. She felt bad about ruining Yuta's clothes twice in a twelve-hour span. But, she just wanted to help.

* * *

"Wartortle, now's our chance!" Yuta exclaimed. "Use Ice Beam!"

It was now a few hours later, and after Yuta changed into a fresh set of clothing, he was off to challenge Erika for his fourth gym badge. He had to schedule the battle, and because of the incident earlier in the day, he barely made it on time. He had been flustered from before, but when it came to battling, his strategy was always calculating.

His Wartortle, slowed by paralysis from a prior Stun Spore, eventually mustered up enough energy to unleash the jagged beam of ice from his mouth. It froze the ground before him before blasting into Erika's Vileplume. The ice overtook the Grass-type Pokémon, freezing her still. Eventually, it imploded on itself, causing an explosion of cool mist, and Vileplume sank to the ground like a pancake.

The referee dressed in a kimono raised her flag. "Vileplume is unable to battle! Wartortle wins! The victory goes to Kato Yuta!"

The crowd cheered while Yuta and Erika both made their way onto the field. Yuta shot his Wartortle a glance that said, 'I'm proud of you' and the Pokémon responded with an exhausted smile.

"Congratulations, Yuta," Erika said. "Here is the Rainbow Badge! I wish you luck on your journey!"

Yuta took the badge and admired its different colors. Every win, every badge, was one step closer to a second chance at the conference. He'd do whatever he had to do to win this year, and so far, he hadn't taken any losses. His Pokémon were healthy, and the bond he shared with them was even stronger this year.

He tucked the badge away into its case and then bowed, leaving Erika and the Celadon Gym behind him.

He considered going back to the Pokémon Center, but then he risked running into that girl once again. He wasn't comfortable with that. Celadon was big enough to have multiple Pokémon Centers, so he could change where he was staying. He'd be leaving in a couple of days as it were.

He pulled his town map from his bag and opened it up. He had already defeated the Vermillion, Fuschia, Dark City, and now Celadon Gyms. That left him with four more. There were two gyms in Saffron that he could choose from, so he'd probably end up going there. He lowered the map, and screeched as the girl from before came into view.

"Hiya!" she exclaimed happily. "I wanted to apologize about earlier! I just so happen to see you reading your atlas, so I figured I'd wait for you to finish and then say sorry!"

Yuta folded the map and then tucked it back into his black backpack. "It's nothing. Water under the bridge. I should go though. My Pokémon need some attention."

"Are you a strong trainer?" she asked.

Yuta stopped trying to walk away. He paused and then shrugged. "Maybe."

The girl pulled a Poké Ball from her belt and held it out. "I want a battle! My name is Eguchi Reina, and I'm gonna be this year's Top Coordinator!"

Yuta couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head. "I don't waste my time with coordinators."

"What?! Why are you so rude? I'm just challenging you to a battle," Reina said. "I know I could beat you."

Yuta turned away. "I'm an ace trainer. It'd be impossible for you to beat me in a battle."

"I can beat you! I believe in myself and my Pokémon!"

Yuta sighed but then smiled. "Oh yeah? You know, I like the idea of putting you in your place after you ruined my jacket. I'll take your challenge. In fact, let's make a deal. If I beat you, you never talk to me again."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. So far, sixty percent of our encounters have led to my wardrobe getting destroyed. You're a bad luck omen. I'm surprised I'm not covered in orange juice right now," he said.

"How rude!" she exclaimed. "Fine! But if I beat you, then you have to travel with me!"

"What?"

"Yeah!" Reina said, remembering her rival and how she has a traveling companion. "Traveling with other trainers is good for the soul! We can train together and support one another."

Yuta had wanted someone to travel with this year, but this girl was the last person on earth that he wanted to do that with. However, if a battle that he couldn't lose meant never having to see her again, then he'd be okay with taking his chances.

"Fine," Yuta muttered. "Let's do this." He considered his options, drew out his Poké Ball, and grinned.

"Charmander, go!" Reina shouted while releasing her Pokémon. The red lizard Pokémon from the night prior materialized on the road, blasting fire from his mouth.

Yuta laughed. "Perfect! Wartortle, one more battle for the day!"

Wartortle emerged and then howled. He tried to amp himself up for battle, but then suddenly, small sparks emitted from his body.

"Wait, I forgot about paralysis!" Yuta yelled.

"Use Metal Claw!" Reina commanded, not hearing Yuta's concern.

Charmander raced down the small battlefield with his claws raised into the air. They took on a metallic color and became hard as steel. He swiped, scratching Wartortle directly in the face. Wartortle fell back, but quickly recovered and came back to his feet.

"Bubblebeam!" Yuta commanded, knowing that all he needed was one strong attack.

Wartortle struggled before unleashing the flurry of bubbles from his mouth. They repeatedly pelted into Charmander, making him step back before he eventually collapsed.

Yuta sighed with relief. Although he had forgotten about paralysis, he still found a way to win the battle.

But then, Charmander started to glow an intense white and blue light. The energy surged around him, and he grew, taking on a larger form. His skin had become a darker shade of red, and the flame on the tip of his tail was now much more intense.

"Not good," Yuta muttered.

Reina jumped up and down. "We did it! You're amazing!"

"You haven't won yet!" Yuta yelled. "Bubblebeam!"

"Yet!" she responded with a wink. "Use Dragon Rage!"

The two Pokémon unleashed their attacks from their mouths. The intense bubbles met midway across the field with the arcane flames, and to everyone's surprise, the fire broke through. Wartortle was then blasted directly and engulfed in a violent violet light. He paused before falling to the ground. Battling a gym leader and then a random trainer was too much for the Water-type.

Reina ceased jumping momentarily while she watched Yuta try to wrap his head around the loss. He looked like he had seen a ghost, and he was frozen with the thought of having to travel with her.

"You okay?" Reina asked. "You don't have to take it seriously! If you don't want to travel with me, you don't have to."

That snapped Yuta out of his trance. He withdrew Wartortle and tucked his Poké Ball away. "No. I lost fair and square. I'll travel with you, but you have to go on my schedule. My name is Kato Yuta. Have you been to Saffron?"

Reina was elated. She got closer to Yuta, maybe too close, and poked him in the stomach. "That's where my next contest is! Let's get traveling, pal!"

"Don't call me that."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Leading up to the Kanto Grand Festival, I'm posting up three chronicles for Yurie's three rivals. I'm hoping that they'll sort of help to endear the rivals to you all. I'm not sure if this story does that, but out of curiosity, do you see Reina winning in the end?


	11. Kitahara Omori

**KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles  
Entry 8**

**Kitahara Omori**

**Written by UKEagleClaw**

**Story/Concept/Edited by KokoroEcho**

**The Goldenrod Playboy**

* * *

Vermillion City needed improvements in this boy's eyes. His nostrils flared. A fishy breeze, drifting in past the harbour, chilled his skin while, as he worked his way through the narrow streets, the conversations of foreigners and tourists assaulted his ears. Construction workers in filthy overalls were banging in their final nails and rubbing their last sweat-covered brows of the day. Grotesque blocks of concrete ascend skywards.

Upon disembarking from the SS Aqua, he had spotted a sign that had read:

_Vermilion City_

"_The Port of Exquisite Sunsets"_

But it was cloudy. There was no sun today.

_What they need is someone with a sense of fashion in charge, _decided Kitahara Omori.

On his way to the Pokémon Centre, he passed through the centre of Vermilion.

Shopfronts caught his eye. It was his first time in Kanto. The suits, the shirts, the kimonos, and the dresses ushered him closer. He stared beyond the glass, inspecting the differences between Kantonian and Johtonian fashion, until a familiar style reminded him.

His hand slipped into his glossy designer backpack. He found it. An envelope. Unopened. With some apprehension and a faint glimmer of hope, he gently pierced the envelope and took out the enclosed letter. His eyes examined the writing warily:

_Dear Omori,_

_Myself and your father are having a splendid time in your absence. I am about to launch a thrilling new fashion line – I know it will be a hit amongst the young, glamourous ladies of Johto – and your father's restaurant has recently been awarded a fifth star!_

_Omori, we know you achieved some success last year, but you are always welcome to stay in Goldenrod with us instead of pursuing this . . . folly with Pokémon. I admit there is a certain attraction to them, and as a young girl, I had a few Pokémon myself, but I saw two reports the other day. One detailed how much of a struggle it was to make a career in Pokémon unless you are a top coordinator or trainer; the other showcased the impact of Pokémon in our marketing campaigns. It was staggering. People love these Pokémon, it seems._

_All we want is the best for you. We sent you to private school for a good reason. So, you could have a lucrative, fulfilling career. Do remember, Omori, you have such successful parents – not at all do we mind you taking advantage of the family name._

_Love,_

_Your mother and father._

Omori wasn't sure how to feel. He wasn't surprised. Was he angry? More disappointed. He had a strange relationship with his parents. He was more used to being away from them than with them. Either he was boarding at a private school or, when he was home, they were working late hours at work.

As he stood there, though, processing his emotions, he noticed:

_PS: I would so love to savour first-hand some of Kanto's finest. Send clothes and souvenirs._

Omori stared enviously at a reflection in the glass: a mother and son. He wished his parents were normal. _Clothes and souvenirs . . . _he thought with a sigh. _Is that all she cares about?_

Kitahara Omori stood there for a moment longer, contemplating. Then he scrunched up the letter and buried it deep in his pocket. _I'm going to prove them wrong, _he decided. _I'll make a career out of being a coordinator._

_Maybe then they'll approve . . ._

* * *

Applause was a beautiful symphony playing in his ears. Omori grinned. _The first of many, _he knew. His opponent returned his paralysed Pokémon and staggered away, head lowered.

The spotlight transferred solely to Omori with his glamorous suit, his popstar-like hair, and his handsome face.

"Pikchu!" squeaked Pichu. He stuck a cute pose for the crowd.

Omori bowed to the crowd. A spokesperson came over and presented him with a small ribbon.

Omori raised the ribbon for the crowd. They cheered their approval, and his grin widened at the sight of girls in the crowd screaming his name. He closed his eyes for a moment. _This feeling . . . nothing's better._

* * *

Back in his hotel room, tiredness pulled at his eyes. It had been a long day. He had already showered, but upon pulling off his trousers, he had checked the pockets and his hand had found the scrunched-up letter. He'd put it back immediately, like it was too hot to touch, but that hadn't stopped him from considering the possibility . . .

His hand hovered over his phone. He stared at the digits on the touchscreen. He breathed out slowly, then typed numbers he had memorised by heart.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

He wasn't sure whether anyone was going to pick up. Unease instructed his finger to press the red 'end call' button—his parents, what would he say to them? He hadn't planned this out—but his mind persuaded his finger not to. He waited.

_Ring. Ring. Ring—_

"Hello. You have reached the Kitahara household. Unfortunately, I must inform you that Mr. and Mrs. Kitahara are presently away on business, but if you would like to leave a—"

Omori cleared his throat. "Gentarō, it's me."

"Master Omori! What a pleasure to hear your voice! I must say your performance in the—"

"Where's Mother and Father?"

"Away in Galar. Your mother's company is looking to expand its presence in other regions."

"Any idea when they'll be back?"

"No, Master Omori . . . I'm afraid not."

"Oh."

Omori was conflicted. He had been relieved to hear Gentarō's voice. The family's butler had been around for years and Omori had spent more time with him than his parents. He was easy to talk to and lacked his parents' complexity. But disappointment clashed with his relief. He needed to hear his mother's voice, his father's voice, even if he didn't know what he would say to them.

"I was going to say I heard about your performance in Kanto. I tuned into a Kantonian radio station, and I was listening to commentary of your final match. Congratulations, Master Omori—"

"You know you can call me Omori, Gentarō."

"Of course! Of course! But, yes, it sounded like a splendid victory. I was on the very edge of my seat throughout, you see. Your parents . . . I'm sure they're proud of your achievement."

"Yeah, I'm sure they are," he said it for the benefit of Gentarō. He doubted his parents even knew he'd won his first ribbon in Kanto. Bitterness clouded his mind. A lump swelled in his throat. He couldn't talk any longer. He couldn't face the subject of his parents.

He ended the call and buried his head in his pillow.

* * *

Screams and blushing girls greeted Omori's senses as he exited the arena, having won his fourth ribbon in Kanto. He was flanked by two burly Pokémon: a Machamp and a Machoke. Omori's growing popularity had meant contest halls had started to employ bodyguards from the MPA (the Machamp Protection Agency).

Omori strolled over to his fans, black marker pen in hand.

"OMORI!"

"OMORI, YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"I LOVE YOU _MORE_!"

The girl Omori approached first went bright red. She held out her phone and, as Omori posed for the selfie, said, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I can't _believe_ it! It's _Omori_! It's _really Omori_!"

Another fangirl said, "Hi, Omori. Can you sign this one? It's of you and Little Miss Yurie. By the way, I loved your performance today."

Omori put on his best 'Goldenrod Playboy' smile. "Certainly! Anything for a fan so dazzling."

The fangirl fanned her flushed face with her hand, too stunned to respond.

There wasn't enough time to sign every single autograph and appear in everyone's selfies. The sun was falling beyond the silhouettes of skyscrapers; the sky was turning pink. But the time of day didn't occur in the minds of the fangirls, a restless and fanatical species. They pushed each other out of the way to get closer to Omori and started prodding him.

Machamp and Machoke exchanged words. The senior Machamp had sensed the danger coming, had placed one of his four hands on Omori's shoulder, and tried to usher him to leave. Omori knew it was getting late, but he had struggled to pull himself away from the blushing faces and smiles that greeted his every word.

"Machamp," said Machamp to the younger Machoke, knowing this was going to end in disaster.

Machoke adjusted his title belt worriedly. He was looking forward to evolving into a Machamp and earning a promotion. He didn't want this to tarnish his record, but he obeyed Machamp's order. He wrapped a thick arm around Omori.

"So sorry, ladies," Omori squeaked, being pulled away. "Must go. Beautiful Little Miss Yurie is waiting for me. A table's booked."

Machamp stepped between the fangirls and their idol.

Big mistake, Machamp.

The fangirls swarmed the barriers. Machamp had four jacked-up arms at his disposal. He held them out to stop the tide, but the fangirls were super-effective against him. He was overwhelmed sooner than you could say, "Magikarp."

"Machoke!" shouted Machoke. "Machoke!" He pushed Omori away before facing the fangirls, their merchandising brandished like swords. This hadn't been what Machoke had been expecting when he signed up with MPA. He would happily have started Brick Breaking these fangirls, but if he caused considerable harm to multiple humans, he knew his career would be over. He pushed back his Fighting-type instincts. There was another move he could use, and if his plan worked, the client would get away safely. He might even evolve and finally get his promotion.

Adrenaline shot through Omori's body. Footsteps pounded against the ground. He looked over his shoulder. He knew he should have been scared, worried at how much the fangirls wanted to get to him, but having girls race after him gave him a rush unlike any other. A crazy grin materialised on his face. He watched as Machoke concentrated, holding out his hands.

The fangirls raced closer. Eyes on Omori, had they even noticed Machoke?

"Omori please!"

"We need you in our life!"

"We _love_ you!"

Then fangirl after fangirl flung themselves into a blue forcefield. Goldenrod Playboy t-shirts, posters, and photos fell to the ground, a mass of human bodies splattered against Machoke's Protect. The fangirls had been stopped, for now.

Machoke glanced back and saw that Omori hadn't gone far.

"Machoke," he said.

Omori didn't need a translator to know that Machoke had said something like, "Get going, kid."

Omori's hotel wasn't far away. After he'd ducked inside, another contingent of fangirls arrived. Someone had found out from their sister's friend of a friend, a receptionist at the hotel, that Kitahara Omori was staying there. They mobbed the entranceway. Despite the door-Pokémon's efforts attempts, the fangirls toppled Poliwrath over and broke inside, shrieking for Omori.

But Omori was nowhere to be seen. The Goldenrod Playboy had already disappeared from the lobby. While the fangirls were disorientated, backup arrived and the fangirls were escorted out of the building.

Omori was instead upstairs, in a private room on the highest floor that was far too big for an 11-year-old kid, with a grand king-sized bed, a massive TV, a huge bathroom (with a jacuzzi), and a mini-fridge stocked with sparkling water, juices, and soda.

Meganium and Pichu helped fill the space—Meganium was inspecting the contents of the fruit basket and Pichu was jumping up and down on the bed; normally, it would have got on Omori's nerves, but they'd won a contest today. He could let it slide.

His phone buzzed in his pocket; it had been on silent for the duration of the contest.

_3 missed calls_, he realised when unlocking his phone.

He recognised the number and dialled back. Doubts weighed down his hopeful thoughts. He knew how unlike it was . . .

"Hello! Mom? Dad?"

Omori was surprised at the excitement in his voice.

"Master Omori!" answered an older but an even more excited voice. "I just had to call you!" blurted the family's butler. "Oh! That was fantastic! Fantastic! I watched it on television this time. I was so impressed!"

"Thanks, Gentarō," murmured Omori. "But I . . ." Disappointment strained his voice. "I had hoped my parents would answer."

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry. Your mother's away on business still, I'm afraid, and your father's been promoted; overseeing the improvement of other restaurants in the chain. I did receive the packages you sent for your mother, though, and I have forwarded them onto her hotel in Galar. I'm sure she will want to thank you in person for those gifts . . ."

Omori could tell from his faltering tone that Gentarō wasn't convinced she would.

Omori considered his parents and blinked hard. He'd bought the clothes and souvenirs in the end, hoping it would make a difference, hoping it would warrant a phone call.

"It's okay," he lied, pushing past the lump in his throat. "It's okay . . . Thanks for calling, Gentarō. I appreciate it."

Omori and Gentarō talked for some time, even if Omori couldn't stop thoughts whirling around in his mind about his parents. When the call ended, he turned off the lights, lay back, and wondered about the future.

The king-sized bed dwarfed him, and his thoughts were heavy burdens on his mind. Pichu was curled up on his chest and Meganium's sweet scent helped soften his breathing. He watched the rise and fall of Pichu's body in the semi-darkness, reflecting on the four ribbons he had won so far. His parents. His thoughts wavering between what he thought of them and what he wanted them to be, wondering what _he _could do differently.

He closed his eyes. His breathing grew shallower.

If it would make a difference, he would give it all up. Truthfully, he wasn't a great battler, but he adored the commercial side of contests, the showmanship that one needed to possess to become a top coordinator: the merchandising and sponsorship, the arenas full of screaming fans, the spotlight.

But, if it would strengthen his relationship with his parents, he would extinguish the Goldenrod Playboy. He _would_ become Kitahara Omori only. His supporters would find and flock to the next sensation, no doubt.

_But no more contests_ . . . that thought twisted his heart.

* * *

**Eagleclaw's Notes:  
**Kudos to Kokoro for this one. He supplied me with an outline of Omori's Chronicle, and his notes on Omori's character were really interesting to read. Omori is essentially compensating for his parents' lack of affection through his appearances as the Goldenrod Playboy. Kokoro made it clear that Omori had two personas and I tried to stress that with the second-last paragraph in particular.

The MPA in particular was a spur-of-the-moment idea. I really liked writing that bit, though. Was a lot of fun and having the Machamp and Machoke involved added a Pokémon element to Omori's Chronicle. The younger Machoke wanting to evolve and get promoted added to the career-focused nature of this chapter, stressed the most by Mr. and Mrs. Kitahara. Overall, though, it was really interesting to consider.

**Kokoro's Notes:**

You did a wonderful job! I had the idea to write this chronicle with the idea in mind that we could explain some of Omori's behavior. I'm curious as to who people will be rooting for in the Kanto Grand Festival when it comes around. Maybe this chapter will create more Omori fans. Next week, Michika's chronicle!


	12. Imamura Michika

KokoroEcho's Pokémon Chronicles

Entry 9

Imamura Michika

A Fallen Star

* * *

Maybe it was just beginner's luck.

Imamura Michika twisted the faucet and let the clean water pour. She repeatedly ran a small golden pot under it, filling it up, and then pouring it out. When she determined that it was clean enough, she put it over a towel where she'd allow it to air dry momentarily.

She walked to the middle of the room that she had rented at the Pokémon Center and knelt over a small pit which was usually used for trainers to grill their food. She removed the top and looked at the black pit. She carefully and slowly placed in small rectangular pieces of charcoal with long chopsticks. She made sure to stack them in a pattern that was considered beautiful. Their positioning had a purpose. And then, she lit a small fire.

This had become a part of Michika's nightly routine. It was a way for her to relax and wind down after a day of hard training and practice. She had been homesick for quite a while, and besides her partner, Piplup, this kind of ceremony was the only thing that helped to calm her nerves and keep her cool-headed. It reminded her of home.

She filled the pot once more, now opting to keep the water inside, and she placed it over the fire, allowing it to heat up slowly. A watched pot never boils, so she took this time to change her clothes. Most girls her age didn't know how to change into a kimono by themselves, but Michika was trained at a young age.

Her robe was white as the snow from Sinnoh, and she chose a yellow belt, as it was her favorite color. By the time that she had finished changing, the water had already started to boil.

Her Piplup sat near the pot and politely ate some candy that Michika had offered her. It was condensed sugar, but in small douses, it was safe for Pokémon to eat.

Michika sat down on her shins in front of the boiling pot and prepared the small glass bowl that she would drink from. It was different shades of maroon with a clay-colored bottom. She set it down and opened up a small cylandrical caddy called a natsume. She opened the natsume and carefully cleaned it with a red cloth. Using a small bamboo spoon, she placed a dash of green powder from the nastume to her bowl. She closed the natsume and then put it to the side before cleaning the bamboo spoon with the same red cloth.

It was a process that required a lot of precision and care. To the uneducated eye, it may have looked odd and as though Michika were taking too much time to do the individual tasks. But for Michika, she was upholding the traditions that she had been taught by her mother. Every step had reason. Every movement had the purpose of eventually bringing the ceremony to its relaxing cresciendo.

She put the bamboo spoon ontop of the natsume and then turned her attention to the pot. Steam was escaping from the top, and she knew that in a matter of minutes, she'd be enjoying her drink. She carefully waved a wooden ladle above the pot and then slowly dipped it inside. She stirred it a few times, lifting the water from the pot and then allowing it to pour back in. When she felt that the time was ready, she scooped out some of the water, enough fill the ladle to the brim. And she brought it to the bowl.

Upon mixing with the powder, the water turned a murky green. Michika needed a consistent color though. She placed the bamboo ladle back on the pot and then focused her attention on the bowl. She brought a bamboo whisk from the side and slowly dipped it into the bowl. Then, while keeping her body still, her hands went into a frenzy, letting the whisk tear a part and mix the rest of the powder. When she was younger, her wrist would grow tired within seconds, but now she was able to do it with ease. Within moments, the water became dark green, and it foamed at the top with bubbles. Michika returned the whisk to her side and then smiled.

"Tea?" she asked her Piplup.

Pokémon had even less of an understanding of the tea ceremony than humans. But Piplup had been with Michika for almost two years now, and she was used to drinking tea. She nodded her head and allowed Michika to slide the bowl across the floor towards her. She then waited for her trainer to make her own bowl of tea.

And when both of them were served, they drank.

For Piplup, the sweet candy was just a way to offset how bitter the green tea was. It gave it a neutral taste. The tea was hot, but it was no hotter than Piplup's Brine attack. The Water-type could handle it, even if it was a difficult to get used to at first.

For Michika, she never needed the sweets. She enjoyed the tea how it was. The warming sensation reminded her of Sinnoh winters. It brought back memories of relaxing under a blanket and listening to her mother read her storybooks. The taste reminded her of her mother's cooking. They'd finish every dinner with tea, and they'd share the stories of their day. Her mother would work at the tea shop and teach people about the ceremony that Michika just performed. And Michika herself would go to school to learn how to raise Pokémon.

In a region where Michika did nothing but struggle and fail, the tea brought her back to a place of bliss and joy. In a region filled with strong and determined trainers that continuously managed to beat her left and right at every corner, the tea allowed her to find balance. In a region where it seemed like she'd never earn her fifth ribbon, the tea reminded her that there was still a light at the end of the tunnel.

She had been a star in her first year of competition. Contests, appeals, and battling felt like second nature. It came to her with ease, and she felt as comfortable with it as she did with tea.

But she had fallen and was in an endless loop of losing. Her friends and rivals were moving on and winning enough ribbons to go to the Grand Festival. She read the news. But Michika couldn't help but feel like she'd be left out. At the end of her journey in Kanto, she'd be nothing but a loser.

It was okay though because she knew that her future was still bright. After all, she had tea.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Wanted to write something kind of easy with minimal dialogue, so here ya go!

I've mentioned this before, but Michika is loosely based on one of the girls that I was in tea club with (all of Yurie's rivals are). I wanted to sort of honor the tea club in this chapter. The girl that Michika is based on was extremely talented at making the tea, and I used to have a small crush on her. I admired how calmly she managed to make the tea. If you ever get the chance, try to go to a Japanese tea ceremony. It's magical.


End file.
